Fall

Well, since SOMEone (me) forgot to put the memory card back in the camera, we don't have any actual pictures. (I took video)  But it was good. Here is a picture of the pie crusts I made the day before. (before baking, obviously, but they all turned out!)  It was my first time making pie crust, but between a good recipe (from my great Aunt "Nano") and helpful tips from my mom, they didn't die! Next time (like next Thanksgiving... making pies is not good for my weightloss attempts... surprise, surprise) I need to work on making them a touch thinner and of a more uniform thickness. :)

We went to a friend's house (they don't have any family anywhere near either) and had a nice Thanksgiving dinner together.  They only have an (almost crawling) baby, so our three kids are a little bit loud and crazy for their house, but they were good sports. :)  EDIT: I forgot Jeremy took some pictures on his phone. Here are a few. :)

The "kids' table"

Katy with her OWN piece of pumpkin pie. She wanted nothing to do with
this "bites" thing...

Jeremy had some of his usual Black Friday shopping fun, though he did most of it online (actually on Thanksgiving) and slept in this year. We are almost completely done with our Christmas shopping! The day after Thanksgiving we also put the rest of our lights and decorations up, and put the ornaments on the tree. Our house is so very festive and I LOVE it! I adore Christmas lights. :)

Last weekend (backtracking) we went over to another friend's house and helped them rake their leaves. We don't have a yard, so we don't really have any leaves. The kids had an absolute blast playing "Fox & Geese" and jumping in one of the huge piles. Their yard is about the size of my parents, but more horizontal than vertical. There are a LOT of leaves. Plenty to share. :)

Yesterday we were looking for something to do, and I saw online that the "Chesapeake Arboretum" wasn't THAT far from our house, and it was completely free, so we decided to check it out. It's a cute little patch of wilderness with trails zigzagging all through it and lots of local flora labeled. We could see surrounding houses much of the time, and it's probably prettier during other seasons, but in late fall the trails were all carpeted with crunchy brown leaves, and there were still lots to see. The kids said "Thanks for taking us on this fun adventure!" They enjoyed it a lot more than I thought they would, and we'll definitely have to go back. Maybe with our backpack carrier next time. It would be a much more logical choice than the double jogger we threw Katy in. She's way to heavy to carry through all that, and though we let her walk some, she didn't want to hold hands or press forward. She was much more interested in stopping and seeing what she could find to put in her mouth... One other funny thing: Reilly commented on how he hadn't seen any animals and I told him they were probably mostly sleeping.  Reilly asked, "What kinds of animals sleep during the day?" I said, "Um, maybe racoons?" Reilly: "That's right, because they're nocturnal." I guess at least the TV he watches is mostly educational, because we certainly haven't discusses what nocturnal means. Crazy kid. He's a little too smart for his own good sometimes.

After the arboretum we ran to Wal-mart for a few things. Jeremy had a random craving for a donut, so he took the kids over with him to pick out one to share. I guess we're doing something right nutritionally, (or maybe we're just mean parents) because neither of them knew what they were called. Jaina called them "bagels with frosting!"

That evening we actually got to go out on a date, because Jeremy had set up a babysitter. We don't get to do that often enough (it's just too expensive!) but it's so nice to get away from these sweet little "bedlamites" and enjoy each other's company without the constant directions, questions, and opinions!

Happy Thanksgiving!

19.  A four-day weekend. Especially when you're a little low on sleep, having your husband home sounds nice for many reasons. Tag-teaming the sleep issue is not the most exciting part, but it's definitely a bonus!

20. A happy, healthy baby girl. (though at 17 months, she's hardly a baby anymore...) Even if she DID wake me up before 5 again, she has been so silly and so happy and I'm so grateful that we have her (and her siblings!). I was reading some infertility/adoption blogs yesterday, and they just broke my heart! Is it bad to say that I enjoy reading about other people's trials? That doesn't sound quite right. Other than part where I'm crying for them (without even knowing them) it just makes me SO SO grateful for all our blessings, and helps me not take the little things for granted.  I like getting some insight into their lives, so that maybe when people close to me are dealing with something hard, I'm able to have more empathy, and perhaps have better ideas of what I could do or say that is actually helpful.


21. No one is sick today! Having sickies on the holidays can be so miserable, and I'm glad that we're all well. We've beeHopefully we'll luck out on Christmas too. Definitely hoping for that blessing! :)

22. Music. I love music. I forget how much sometimes, but I've been listening to a lot of Christmas music lately, and it makes me want to have good music on more often during the year. I don't get to participate in music much these days, but I know this time of our lives is a little intense with three small children and that there will be plenty of years for me to be in ward choirs and maybe some community things like the Messiah that the Gila Valley does every year.

23. Eternal families and Temples. I know I already mentioned the gospel, but it gives me so much peace. I love my family (all of them) SO much, and if I didn't know about the sealing power and that we can have each other forever, I think the worry would just eat me up at the thought of losing any of them prematurely. As it is, I'm trying to get better about worrying about the little things. :)

24. (today) My life.  It is good. It is really good. There are things I'd like to change, (mostly about myself) and challenges, and unknowns and trials, but I really don't have much to complain about. I have been so blessed, and things are great. I am so grateful for my life, my family, my friends, and all my many blessings. Happy Thanksgiving!

Grateful Revisited.

11. Wednesdays.  Jeremy often gets some or most of Wednesdays off. It is so nice to have him around to do fun things together, or get errands done, or get some extra things done around the house. Yesterday he got the whole day off, and it felt like a Saturday for us! It is always so nice to have him around, and he is much more productive at cleaning quickly than I am. (Especially since I usually have 42 interruptions. Per minute.) He takes such good care of us!

12. Air conditioning. I know it's not hot anymore, but as someone who doesn't deal well with the heat (dry OR humid) I am so grateful for A/C. Jeremy is also grateful that I have A/C. You have no idea.

13. Jeremy's job. We may be thousands of miles from family, and it may not be exactly what he wants, but I am so grateful that we found an associate position learning and practicing what he wants to do, and that we can afford to keep a roof over our heads, and that it's in such a beatiful location!

14. (Relative) health. Sure, we may think that we have problems and setbacks within our family (health-wise) sometimes, but when I read about what some people and some families have to deal with on a daily basis, I am just humbled and overwhelmed with gratitude at how blessed we are.

15. Our bed. It is so amazingly comfortable. When we got married I was working full-time at EAC and Jeremy was working for a furniture store, so not only could we afford to buy a good bed, but we got it at cost! I have never regretted that purchase. And I am so glad we finally get to have our frame with us again too! (We left it in Arizona when we moved to Iowa so it would get less banged up in all the moving... it's a good thing, since all of that stuff moved 5 times...)

16. On that note, Sleep. It's a little hit-and-miss around here right now, mostly due to Katy teething and not being able to let her cry at all (even when she's not in pain, but just awake) to go back to sleep if she wakes up at 4 am (without waking up her siblings, which may or may not go back to sleep - and they don't nap!). It just makes me that much more grateful when everyone sleeps all night, and doesn't wake up until 6:30(!). So nice. The time change has also been a little rough on sleep around here, so I'm so thankful for those mornings they don't wake up at 5:30 or 6. 

17. TV. Sad, but true. My older two have been champion TV watchers (as in, they really liked it and it kept their attention) from their Baby Einstein days. It's hard to make sure they don't watch too much some days, but it's sure nice that they like it so much when we have those long car trips, or when things are just a little too chaotic. I know that will get the older two, at least, to settle down, if we put something on. Katy is harder to tell. Sometimes she'll watch for a little while, sometimes not. I'm also grateful there is "better" (as in more educational, less violent/scary) programming for kids now than when I was a kid. I loved 80's cartoons, but when I watch them now (including some of the Disney movies I loved), I am so glad there are other options... Not such a fan of listening to Dora or Diego, but I don't mind a lot of the pre-school programming available, and I think they're getting something useful out of it often. Kids are always learning something when they watch, so it's nice to control a little bit of what that is!

Let's throw in one for tomorrow as well:
18. Autumn. So excited for the cooler temperatures and the holidays, and the leaves have been beautiful the last few weeks! I don't have any of the pretty oranges and yellows around here (why? I don't know!) but here's a picture of Jaina standing by some bushes at Jeremy's office. :)

Big Sigh of Relief

So a few weeks ago I made a mistake and DIDN'T check the drop down menu when I way making a payment on our credit card (we put almost everything on our card and pay it off as we go, to help keep track and to build credit and cashback rewards). I forgot that I had made a payment from our Az account (We have a new bank here in VA) before just to use some of the money out of it, and since that was the last payment, it was automatically selected. Needless to say, there wasn't enough money to complete the payment, which I was unaware of until we got a notice in the mail about it. (Thankfully, since we do pay it often, it wasn't a problem of being late on a payment or anything) I noticed right away that our Az account had hit us with a non-sufficient funds charge, and then today when our CC bill posted THEY had also charged us a fee. With Christmas coming up and funds a little snug this year, I was just sick about how expensive my little mistake had become. Talking to my dear sister (I was not looking forward to discussing it with Jeremy yet) she told me how she was able to get charges removed once when she accidentally messed up too. So after about an hour of building up my courage I called the bank. It took a few minutes, but they didn't give me any problems, and removed their fee. YAY!  About an hour later I finally got up my nerve to try Chase (our cc) as well. I know some people haven't had good experience with them, but I've never had anything but helpful CSM with them, and the wait time is almost non-existant. My new friend Nichole cheerfully agreed to remove the charges. I'm sure much of this has to do with us having fairly good records with both places, but it was still such a relief to me! Happier day now, for sure!
I will update soon with some pictures and what we've been up to the last week or two. :)

Thankful.

I have a prideful confession: If everyone else is doing it, I don't really want to. Or if I do it too, I certainly don't like to TELL people I do it. Is that ridiculous, or what? I don't know where this came from. I know I've never been much of a crowd follower, but it's silly to feel that way.  We should all just do what we want to and what we think is best, and if it's what everyone is doing too (like say, eating, showering, exercising), then GREAT!  So when I saw people doing something they're thankful for each day of November, I thought it was a fun idea, especially for the month of Thanksgiving. But so many people were doing it, and I didn't want to look like I was just jumping on the bandwagon (that's where the pride comes in, I guess. Caring what anyone else thinks...). What better way to follow the crowd than to express thanks for all the blessings in your life, even if EVERYONE is more thankful in November (at least outwardly). I AM thankful. My life is so blessed, in so many ways. Since I've already lost 10 days of not expressing my gratitude, here are 10 things I'm thankful for:

1. The Gospel. Seriously, it's the only thing in my life that is completely safe and I have complete faith in. Knowing that our Heavenly Father is there, loves me, keeps His promises, and will never let me down gives me the courage (and the reason) to do everything else I do in life.

2. Jeremy. He is so wonderful. He tries so hard to make my life as good as he possibly can. He hasn't really settled for the easy or popular path in any part of his life. I know we're (a wife and decent-sized family at such a "young" age, especially while going through grad school, etc.) quite a responsibility, but he works hard to provide for us and make sure our family and home stay in one piece. He loves being a Daddy, and is good about making time for each of our kids. I am so blessed to be married to him.

3. My children. They drive me crazy much of the time, but they are pretty amazing, and I'm grateful that we've been blessed with them. Motherhood is not often easy for me, but I know that it's worth it, and I know it's an important part of our life here on earth. I'm grateful to have the chance to grow and learn alongside them, as they try to turn me into a better person.


4. My family. I have the greatest parents, and brothers and sisters. None of us are anywhere near perfect, but I have always known I was loved, and even knowing me at my worst, they've forgiven me(or forgotten) and still like me. I miss them all a lot when we have to be so far away all the time. I'm also grateful that my siblings have each (so far... Spencer's still pretty far down the line) found wonderful spouses that take good care of them and that I have enjoyed getting to know.  My parents have helped us out in so many ways, not the least of which is hosting our crazy little family of 5 for 6 months (split up; we lived in Provo for 2 1/2 months) last year. That can't have been easy!

5. Jeremy's family. I hear stories all the time about how crazy some people's in-laws are. It's so nice never have had to worry about that! They are some of the most giving people I know, and they are amazing grandparents. Of course they also raised Jeremy, so I can't help but be grateful for them!

6. A Home.  It's not THE home, but after a year of not knowing where we were going or what we were going to be doing, it's so nice to have our own place to live, and to feel comfortable and safe here. Sometimes we wish for a little more room, but we're doing just fine for now, and I can't help but think about the pioneers (and people in other parts of the world, even now!) all living in one- or two-room tents or houses for months and years at a time. I don't know how they did it. We are so blessed.

7. Friends. We lived far away from them all right now, but I have been so blessed in my life with so many friends. Different ones for different seasons, but I'm still grateful for all of them, and still love them and love to talk to them. My first friends: Cindy, Loni, Jennifer (C&J also being my cousins, which made it that much greater), the friends that made high school MUCH more bearable than it might have been: Heather and Athena. My friends from EAC: Chris & Isabelle, (and of course Jeremy). Most of my BYU roommates, but especially Karen and Naomi. And friends from our Palmer years: there were also a lot of them, but the Noordas and the Frandsens made Iowa a little more like a home. I look forward to staying in touch with all of these friends through the years, and to making some new ones along the way!

8. Christmas. That may seem a little silly, but I get such joy from this season (November and December) and it gives me something (lots of things) to look forward to every year as the weather grows (thankfully) cooler! I love the music, the lights, the shopping, (being honest, here) attempting to surprise my husband, (he is HARD!) the warm-fuzzy-feeling movies, Christmas trees, (ours is already up, actually. I was needing a little bit of a pick-me-up after my parents left, and I just wanted "the holidays" to be here, so Jeremy indulged me...) and of course the Reason we celebrate Christmas. (I don't know why it won't stand upright. It's actually vertical in our house... ;-)

9. My computer. It really does help keep me sane. Some people work outside the home, (for sanity reasons; I know lots of people just HAVE to work) some have their own little businesses, or craft, or restore things, or do photography, or what-have-you. Sometimes you need a little something to nurture your own innate need to create. To accomplish something that STAYS accomplished (the dishes and laundry are necessary, and a great service to your family, but they're a little disheartening to do over and over and over). My computer allows me to video edit, digital scrapbook, and stay in touch with all the people I care about. I am so grateful for technology!

10. The Church. I'm not talking so much about the Gospel here, but the people of the church. The organization of wards that are the same everywhere. The people that care about you before they even know you. A place to ask questions, find help, or find friends. It would be much scarier to move (especially 4 times in a year) without the church and the built-in support system that comes with it. Our ward here is very welcoming, and there are a lot of really nice people. I'm pretty sure that's the story most places though, and I'm grateful for that!

Frustration

The kids do really well sharing a room about 93% of the time. And Katy sleeps really well about 94% of the time. See any correlation? I don't know what to do with this girl. It's PROBABLY just teething (again) and she'll PROBABLY stop doing it when she's not teething anymore, but the last two weeks at least 3 times she's been up anywhere from 4:30 (today) to 5:30 and there's nothing I can do about it. If she was in her own room I would cuddle her for a few minutes and make sure there wasn't anything wrong with her and then put her back to bed. Yes, she would probably cry and fuss for quite a while the first time or two (because she doesn't WANT to go to bed) but then she would figure out that just because she wakes up for some reason doesn't mean it's actually time to GET UP. Instead, if it's anywhere close to 6 am, I know if I let her cry, she'll wake up the other two, and they won't go back to sleep. So I just have to stay up with her and finally put her back down when they get up for the day. I shouldn't complain, because usually if it's been really early I can trust the other two to watch a movie while I go back to sleep too, but it gets a little old. If she's really in pain, I don't mind staying up with her for a while, but I know I could put her back down even after 45 minutes to an hour and she probably would, but she would complain about it first. And if that woke them up at 5:30 or 6, they wouldn't be able to go back to sleep (and they don't take naps,) so they would just be tired and cranky. Did I mention that DST starts this weekend and soon they'll all be "normally" getting up at 5:45 to 6 anyway? Blah.
While we're complaining about my oh-so-hard life, (this is sarcastic, don't worry - I really enjoy most of my life, especially compared to all the uncertainty and separation of last year!) why is my 5-year-old so defiant? He is constantly talking back, yelling "no!" at us and generally throwing a fit when everything doesn't go his way. Has anyone else had this problem? I've resorted to slapping his little mouth (though slapping is a pretty strong word for what actually happens) when he's being really obnoxious, and I REALLY want to find another way to deal with that. We've discussed it to death, trying to help him understand why he DOES need to do what we say, we've done time outs galore, spanking, pretty much everything, and he mostly just gets more incensed that we have any control over him and that he cannot dictate how everything in his life goes (ie getting ready to go somewhere, turning the tv off, getting ready for bed, picking up, what Jaina says and does while they play, etc.).  He used to be such a sweetheart, and I'm not seeing that side as often anymore. I go back and forth between just not standing for it and not wanting to be harsh with him and ignoring a lot of it. But neither of those seem to be working. Has anyone else had trouble with this? Suggestions, please?
I feel whiny, but that can happen when you get up at 4:30 I guess...probably not a good time to blog. I do usually try to stay pretty positive on here.  At least tomorrow is Saturday, and when I get Katy back to bed I should be able to sleep some too! I had big plans for exercise though, and I know I'm going to drag all day!

Just way to cute to sleep!

Catching Up: (this plus the two posts below it!)

I've been a little lazy about posting here. Sorry, all 3 of you who may have noticed. :) It's been a long month. Jeremy was gone to a NUCCA Conference in Reno a few weekends ago (for about 5 days), then he's been spending many evenings and weekends at the Home-a-Rama in Suffolk for the last 2 1/2 weeks at the Precision Spinal Booth, we had Halloween festivities, and my parents were here for 5 days (and 6 nights). That's October in a nutshell. I've backposted 2 additional entries under this one to show random pics from the month and from the Halloween Carnival the Weds before Halloween. :)
We were so excited to hear that our parents were going to be able to visit us! We found out about 6 weeks (or so) ago, and they arrived on the evening of the 27th. The kids were so excited to see them! I was a little nervous about everyone getting sick for their visit, since Jaina had run a fever on the Tuesday before, but the only thing we passed around was a little tiny cold, so I was grateful for that!
We had lots of fun with them, and enjoyed having them stay with us! It was also fun that we got to eat out more this week than we have in the 4 months we have lived here. We visited the Children's Museum in Norfolk, got a flat tire on the way to a mall we never made it to, checked out (a very cold and windy) Virginia Beach, road the carousel at Lynnhaven mall in VB (and visited the Disney store!), watched some movies, shopped, ate out instead of Trick-or-Treated, and toured Yorktown. We all really enjoyed having Grandma and Grandpa here!

She was a little unsure about Grandma and Grandpa at first, but warmed
up quickly!

Playing on some playground equipment at the boardwalk in Virginia Beach!

Climbing some sand dunes.

They love this carousel!

Since we were riding it with a coupon for Reilly's birthday from last
month, they all got punching bags when they got off! They were
pretty excited!

Katy wanted nothing to do with her meal, but REALLY wanted Jaina's
macaroni and cheese, so she finally let her have a few bites. We dressed
them up on Halloween because they got free kid's meals that way
at Texas Roadhouse. Katy REFUSED to wear her elephant costume again
so she went as some kind of little fairy. :)

Me and my kiddos!

A little more dress up at home that night. :)

Poor Grandma spent a lot of their trip wedged between two car seats!
What a trooper!

Reilly and Jaina weren't too impressed with the Yorktown tour, but were
pretty good at amusing themselves anyway, since it was outside.

Isn't it beautiful up there?

A monument I didn't get to check out much, because I was
staying somewhat near Jaina, who was asleep in the car.

Katy really warmed up to Grandpa this visit (she looks so big here!)

She didn't want to be compelled to be in the group shots, but definitely
wanted her picture taken. She was VERY tired that night (that's why
she already has a pacifier) but kept saying "Cheese!" through it.