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.

Halloween Carnival

Our ward had a carnival and Trunk-or-Treat on the Wednesday before Halloween. That worked out well for us, since my parents were going to be here on Halloween, and we probably wouldn't want the kids to do much trick-or-treating that night. I'm not sure where we would have gone. Not around our apartment complex, I don't think. :)
Costumes weren't too difficult. Jaina was excited to wear the same Carebear costume she wore last year in Arizona, and we had the choice of an elephant (that Reilly wore at 12 months old) or a bunny rabbit in her size. The bunny had elastic all around the head, which I didn't think she'd go for, so we opted for the elephant. I thought she'd be fine with it, since (when we were trying on other costumes) she seemed to like wearing the head around a few days before. She was NOT impressed when I put the whole costume on her, but we were a little late and in a hurry, so she just had to deal with it. She relaxed pretty quickly; she loves to get out of the house for any reason! Reilly decided he wanted to be a cowboy, which took a little thrift-store and Wal-mart searching. We found a hat and a belt, but he had to be content with dinosaur rainboots. There aren't a lot of boots floating around here in Virginia... He doesn't know enough about boots for that to have bothered him though. :)
The kids had fun at the carnival, and both won something at the cake walk. They loved going from car to car collecting candy (nice candy too, like lots of chocolate, which has been bad for my diet) while Katy handed some out with Daddy. After they were done, I took Katy to 5-6 cars. She was really getting into it, but many people were out of candy by then. :) It is exhausting taking 3 little ones to something like that. I'm so glad Jeremy was there to help, and that we all had a good time!

Backpost: Random pictures

Some little things we've been up to:
We finally got the kids into the office to get NUCCA corrections recently, and they did great! We already had x-rays on them from when Jeremy took them to a NUCCA doctor out in Iowa last year, but neither of them had been checked or adjusted since we were in Provo, I think! Katy had been having a really rough time with her teething, and colds and stuff, so Jeremy and Allen (the senior associate where he works) took on the exciting job of getting a set of x-rays for her. It was fairly entertaining, and took a while, but they managed it. And then she was remarkably still for her correction, and didn't even cry. It was a small miracle, with how much she DOESN'T like to be restrained in any way, or compelled to do anything that isn't her idea. We didn't get any pictures of all that, because it was taking all of our energy and concentration. :) Here are some pics of the other two though.

We managed to grab an HP TouchPad at the "fire sale" they had when the discontinued them recently, and we are now a two-tablet family. This is kind of nice when my computer is being especially difficult and freezing a lot. Some days it does that. It is also great to have for Katy to watch something on if we have a long car trip (she's still rear-facing and can't see the DVD player) and it's nice for entertaining if things get dicey at appointments or something. :) It's not nearly as nice as Jeremy's iPad, and doesn't have a lot of apps available, but it's a nice little browser/music/video player!

While Jeremy was gone to his NUCCA Conference we did really well the first few days. Here is a picture of us making mini pizzas one night! And the next one is our cute munchkins right before we took Jaina to dance class that same day. She's still really enjoying that!

Jaina and Reilly have recently started unloading the dishwasher (as well as some other chores) and it's nice to have some help around here! (Even if Reilly sometimes creates some leaning towers with his creative stacking while Jaina does the silverware...)

We WERE doing well with Jeremy gone until Katy got sick. I know "they" say you can't run a high fever with teething, but I don't know. Maybe Katy's defenses get low when she starts teething, and she picks up viruses too, because this is the third time she's gotten flu-like symptoms with a high (over 102º) fever while cutting teeth. She now has 3.5 molars and is working on at least one canine. It was a pretty rough couple of days trying to do it all myself though. She was miserable, and when I took her temperature at one point, she had 104.3º! Poor baby. Thankfully a bath brought it down quickly and some motrin that night helped keep it down, because I just didn't feel comfortable dealing with temps that high while single-parenting it. We don't get worked up about fevers, but that one was a little much for me in that situation. Thankfully a few days after Jeremy got home she was feeling better and he helped me get caught up on my sleep! We were glad he got to enjoy his conference, but we were REALLY glad to have him back!

A bunch of the LDS NUCCA guys at the Conference. Some doctors, and
some still in school!

They sure love their daddy!!

THIS one...

is driving me crazy. I would argue that she is more strong-willed than either Reilly or Jaina at this age, and there is no giving in: No quarter, no surrender, no SIR! If she's throwing a fit (or even just starting to fuss) about not being allowed something or having her diaper changed or what-have-you, and I start to sing a little song or in any obvious way try to get her to calm down (and do what I want), intensified body-arching and screaming commences. She does not like to be controlled even a little tiny bit. (As a side note, we were able to take fairly precise x-rays and get her adjusted at Jeremy's office last week, which I'm still marveling at. No small miracle, folks.) She goes back and forth about diaper changes, and that's rather annoying, but not life-changing. She yells to get my attention, she yells if you tell her "no," (much of the time) she screams, Screams, SCREAMS if you're trying to get her to sleep (or back to sleep, at 5 in the morning) if she doesn't agree with a sleep decision. The sleep is really the biggest deal, though the rest would be nice to be able to address. It was more or less not a frequent problem until she was sick this last week, and I was up with her 2-3 times a night with coughing and wheezing and such. But sadly all the "responding" I did while she was sick, both at night and during the day, has intensified some of her less-than-desirable traits. Now I'm not saying she's a terror. She's super cute much of the time, and thinks she's just as big as everyone else, and we're totally in love with her. She just has an opinion (about pretty much everything) and there's no changing it. It's exhausting at times, especially since my other two have their own opinions too, and since I'm -trying- to do something with them.

We've established chore charts, but it takes a lot of effort to "help" them complete them each day, and they kind of suffered last week with all the sickness. Okay, we didn't do them. Except the things that they already do anyway that are on there. (like getting dressed, brushing teeth, etc.) And pre-school time has suffered as well. Most of the problems with schedule seem to come from me, so I guess that's the first place I need to try to make changes.  A friend referred me to this mom's blog: http://www.myblessedhome.net/?p=1560 and I've been getting some good ideas as I've read through some of it. I think this particular link is to something that REALLY applies to me. She talks about yelling in the home and why it happens (from us a moms). Here are some triggers she identifies that I could have written myself (if I had managed to be so introspective):

• "Frustration over a discipline issue that keeps creeping up, and I am tired of dealing with it.
• I may have neglected to take action in an area of discipline for too long, and a behavior has gotten to a point that I am overwhelmed by it.
• A manifestation of laziness. I simply don’t “feel” like stopping what I am doing in order to deal with a misbehavior, and I try to use the volume of my voice to do the work instead.
• My own moodiness, which has nothing to do with the level of misbehavior among the children.

My reasons are not good reasons, but it is important to know what might set me off, so that I can be aware and take action to “discipline” myself! "

I'm really going to try to work on this, as well as setting up some plans of action for when my kids exhibit some of their less-than-desirable behaviors. Maybe we can all work on our failings together! This means a little less time on the computer for me (as important as what I'm doing at the moment seems) and more energy to keeping our schedule, spiritual goals, and behavioral goals on track. Wish me luck. Especially with THIS ONE: