Mission: Simplification

One of the reasons this weekend was so enjoyable was that when it came time to clean up, it was quick and easy because there wasn't much to clean up! When I went on my first cruise, I discovered that I truly can take care of my things- when there are less things to take care of. (and when someone makes my bed every time I leave the room and cooks for me!) I had such a peaceful, relaxing weekend at the beach, that I have decided to take what I learned back home with me. The answer is:

Simplify!!

The problem- My A.D.D brain has a hard time deciding what to keep and what to get rid of. So, I am trying to move quickly through my house and make the decision on the spot! For example, today I cleaned out the kids bathroom and got rid of baby towels and hand towels that we don't need. There were A LOT of them. I also went through all the mismatched socks, matched them, and threw away the ones that didn't match. Any solutions for how not to lose socks?

I feel really good about what was accomplished today. My plan is to declutter an area every day. My end goal- less things to take care of means less stress and more time to enjoy my kids.

Anyone have ideas? What do YOU think are the bare necessities?

Just the 5 of Us

I like to think of myself as a "fun" mom and keep the kids busy with things such as library time, going to the pool, and sometimes even bigger adventures such as going to the beach. Most of the time these trips include me and the kids- but not dad. Our weekends tend to fill up with normal things such as weeding, cleaning (important, nonetheless!), sports, etc. Daddy does like to take them to the Y, Home Depot, or for donuts. Our bigger adventures with the whole family seem to also include other families. Boating, for example requires us to have another family to help with the flagging. :-) We have a yearly beach trip that we have been doing for 8 years and we go camping once or twice a year, and it's always with another family. We love spending time with other families and our kids love having their buddies around, but I think it would be a good thing to get some time with just US every once in a while.

That long winded explanation gets us to this weekend. (Do you expect anything less from me?!) I was feeling pretty sick on Friday and spent much of the day in bed. It was beautiful weather and I was sad to be wasting it inside. I got this crazy idea that I would rather be laying on a couch at the beach! I asked my good friend, Ranell if her beach condo happened to be available. It was and I looked on my calendar and amazingly enough, we had nothing scheduled!! I mentioned it to Jeff and he didn't seem too thrilled, but I realized it was because he had a few things he wanted to get done. So, on Saturday morning, I woke up feeling a little sick still, but went for a run and came back rejuvenated! Jeff took the kids with him to play Ultimate Frisbee and I went to work cleaning the house. When Jeff got home, he worked on his project and then he was ready to take off.

(This view is what I was dreaming of! There is nothing more soothing to me than being at the beach. It is so calm and peaceful and there is nowhere I would rather be. I know a lot of my love of the beach came from my dad, so it means even more to me now to be there.)


I packed as little as I needed just to make it less stressful. It is nice knowing the condo is well stocked with fun things to do. We went to my favorite beach first and played on the sand. It was a little colder than I had imagined in my head, so we didn't stay too long.


We went out for dinner and then headed back to the condo for my favorite part- a late night swim!! No pictures because I just wanted to enjoy it and not worry about my camera! It is a warm pool that looks out at the ocean. It was wonderful.

Today we slept in, played some tennis, played board games, read books, and just relaxed.


We went for a walk to Devil's Punch Bowl and then cleaned the condo and headed home. We spent time discussing our goals as a family. We did have some whining and that gave us a chance to talk about how we feel when we aren't appreciated. Overall, I think we all had a great time. I look forward to coming back and staying for a few days this summer. It is my favorite place to stay at the beach. Lots to do or nothing to do- it is all your choice! I love my little family and I am glad we got to all be together!

Love is...

...seeing your son baptized by his father. What a special experience this was for all of this. My mom was able to come as well as Jeff's parents. I am so grateful they flew out for Dallin's day.

I am so proud of Dallin and the boy he has become. I know I am too hard on him sometimes because of the bar he has set for himself. I need to remember to let him be a kid still. :-) He is sweet, kind, and works hard at everything he tries. I am grateful for Jeff for the example that he has been to me and my children.
We had many friends come and I hope Dallin felt how loved he is. We are grateful for all of our friends here who have become as close as family.
The one person who I really was sad couldn't be there was my father. I know he was there in spirit and I hope Dallin knows how proud of him he is. We all miss my dad so much, but we think about him often and that makes us strive to be like him.


We went out with the grandparents that night to play some miniature golf and arcades. It was a great day. We were sad to see Grandma Di and Grandpa Mel leave.

The rest of the week we spent playing with Grandma Nise. All of us love having her here, especially Emily.
As I have spent a lot of time this weekend thinking about Love, I have recommitted myself to making it my focus. Relationships are the most important thing to me, and I want to make sure the choices I make and how I spend my time reflect that commitment. I tend to overanyalyze things and today in primary, we sang these words, and it hit me, it's very simple!
What does the Father ask of us? What do the scriptures say? Have faith, have hope, live like his Son, help others on their way!

It really IS that simple. Be like the Savior. Treat others with Love, as the Savior would. I am grateful that Dallin chose to Follow the example of Jesus, and I will strive to do the same.

Taking to the skies

Jeff has always talked about wanting to get his pilot's license. It is a dream of my little sister, Shelly, also. I have no desire to fly a plane (I don't even like the responsibility of driving a car!), but I think it's great that Jeff wants to.

For his birthday, I surprised him with an introductory flight and instruction. At first, I was just planning on him going, but they said there was room for me in the 4 seater plane so I decided to join him!

It was so much fun!! I will admit I was very nervous. The weather didn't look too great, but once we were up in the plane it was gorgeous! What an amazing experience! Jeff was able to fly for the takeoff and once we were in the air he learned how to do some crazy turns. I think he really enjoyed it. Yep, I was the cool wife for the day!





It was a great date and birthday for Jeff. We followed the flight with shopping for new clothes for Jeff. I hope he knows how loved he is!

Potty Training- Heaven Help Me!

So, if you have read my blog for a while, you should know that I am not the most talented potty trainer. I have no desire to train Bryce yet, mostly because Emily (at 5) is still hit or miss every once in a while.

That being said, last night Bryce started screaming that he wanted to wear underwear. I have NEVER had that happen. So, I am jumping on it. I wanted a place to keep track of his successes and accidents, and I just knew the universe would want to be update on every exciting detail, so here we go!!
Friday night- Watches Go Potty Go, reads potty books, wants to wear underwear!


Saturday
8:45am- Bryce wakes up, almost dry and I take off his diaper. He starts going pee immediately so I place him on his potty seat on the big potty. He gets an M&M- woo hoo! Off to a successful start. We set the timer for 20 minutes and turn on Go Potty Go.

8:57am- I see Bryce standing up and he is saying his pants are wet. Sure, enough, he had peed. I calmly wisk him into the bathroom and tell him it was an accident and we talk about it. (I have no idea what I am doing!)

9am- Bryce eats his breakfast, drinks milk and water.

9:20am- Bryce sits on the potty. We read 5 potty books, sing songs. It is about 15 minutes and he is done. Done at 9:35.

9:40- Yep, 5 minutes later, he has an accident. So, I calmly talk to him and tell him that Thomas wants Bryce to keep him dry.

9:50- Set the timer for 20 minutes.

10:10am-Sit on the potty. Read Curious George. No pee pee. :-)

10:20am-Set timer for 20 minutes. Bryce is watching Thomas.

10:34- Accident on the floor. Almost made it. Still trying to be calm. Changed underwear.
10:40- Set timer for 20 minutes
10:50-ate more breakfast/lunch. :-)
11:00- Had an accident 6 seconds before the timer went off. Yep, 6 seconds.
11:05- Bryce asked for a diaper and I was THIS close to throwing the towel in and letting Jeff take all 3 kids to the gym.
11:06- Realized I didn't need to give up so quickly. I am going to make it the whole day. We can do this!
11:15-Accident #5- hoping we have better luck with poo poo. Still tempting to give up. This is why I don't make it through potty training!
11:25-Accident 6- tempted to stop. Must.be.strong!
11:51-#7-
12:15pm- Success!! Stayed dry before the timer went off. Went a little pee pee!! I told him we would go outside when he went pee pee. Now I am hoping for the poo poo!
12:30-Was playing bball and had an accident. Bummer. Came inside
12:45- Restart timer
12:55- accident while eating lunch. I think it is nap time, diaper time. I will not give up yet. He is trying to go #2.
1:30-Decided we are both ready for naps! Put a diaper on for sleeping and we will try again after nap. I am enjoying the advice I am getting!

Update
On Saturday- Bryce pooped in his diaper and then decided he didn't want anything to do with the potty.

Sunday
Jeff stayed home from stake conference to try his luck with Bryce. It even went worse than Saturday. No sign of Bryce figuring out his signals. So, we have decided it is not quite time. I am relieved. :-)

Being my youngest especially, I am not quite in a rush. Thanks for all the advice. When we decide to go full force, I will definitely be taking it.

So Blessed

I don't feel like I have had the best attitude this week. I am not great at being the one who needs taken care of. That being said, I am so grateful that Jeff was able to spend the week with us. He played with the kids, took care of meals, picked up the medicines I needed, and even did part of laundry. :-) He never once complained! I wish I could say the same about me, but I will admit I was pretty bummed. It was not the way I envisioned Christmas break. After complaining on facebook, enough of my friends reminded me what Christmas is about, and I quickly saw their point.

I have my family- a husband who treats me with complete respect and love and is a wonderful father. 2 boys and a sweet little girl who all make me smile every day.
I live in a neighborhood where people take care of each other. We had phone calls each day asking what we need. We were brought dinner one night and breakfast for Christmas morning. We were brought many treats to keep our tummies full and happy. (even though no one wanted treats from us!)
We were all together!

Some of my favorite December moments:
Picking out the Christmas tree on a cold Saturday morning.

Emily performing in a dance clinic.
Christmas parade.
2 beautiful concerts by amazing and talented friends, Sarah, and Karen. They really brought the Spirit of Christmas to me. One of the concerts was held at Festival of the Nativities and Ranell was kind enough to drive with me and all the kids!

Lunch with women from my neighborhood.

Building a gingerbread house with Jeff.
Cookie party with friends.

Visiting Dallin's class for the ice cream party.Nutcracker with Emily and lots of good friends and their daughters!

Kid Party at my house!
Emily's preschool Christmas party.

Dallin's first piano recital.

Emily's first Choir performance.
So, I am especially grateful that we celebrated early in the month, so when I got sick we didn't miss out on too much. :-)

The Reason for the Season

I am not feeling the Christmas spirit very much as I am laying in bed with the flu, but I am getting the feeling that there is something I need to learn this season...

SLOW DOWN and enjoy life for what it is. These last few weeks have taught me to focus on the most important things- my relationships. When it comes down to it, that is what really matters. My relationships with my immediate family, my extended family, my friends, and even relationships with strangers. How we treat people determines how happy we will be, and these are the memories that will matter the most in the end.

One of my good friends, Kellie, lost her sweet 6 year old girl to a tragic accident. I wrote down these thoughts:

Life is too short...


...to worry about all the things we are NOT doing.
... to let petty differences get in the way of a relationship.
... to hold onto hurt feelings.
... to focus on our own weaknesses instead of our good qualities.
... to compare ourselves to others.
... to judge people because they are different from us.
... to NOT enjoy the time with our precious children. They are truly gifts from God.
... to NOT find the beauty that is all around us.


So, especially this season, I hope all of us can turn to the Savior and let him heal us. Help us turn our hearts to each other and especially to our children. Help us see things from their eyes. I hope we can forget our differences and be there for one another. I hope we can be patient with one another and ourselves as we all travel different paths. I hope we can be quick to forgive and quick to admit our mistakes- to ourselves, each other, and our children. I hope we can remember how much Heavenly Father and the Savior love each of us and want us to help each other return Home. I hope we can admit when we need help and be quick to help each other. I hope that we can enjoy the good moments and lean on each other during the hard times. I am grateful to know of the Plan of Salvation and that we will be together again. As for now, I it is my hope that we can all find the good in each other.

I love all of you and feel that each person I have met has touched my life in a special way. Thanks for being forgiving of my mistakes and helping me through the tough times.

I will now do some catch up on earlier dates.

Grateful for Family

I have just been enjoying making memories with the family. We were lucky enough to spend a week with each family. I am thankful to have them all in my life. It has been great seeing all the cousins play together.