Sunday, March 28, 2010

Getting By

So we’ve gone two weeks without Paul, only one more to go. If I had been writing this post a week ago, I’m sure it would have been very depressing. Last week was hard. And ironically, Benjamin’s Spring Break coincided with Paul’s trip, so he’s been off for the past two weeks. So we’ve had a LOT of free, unstructured (and at times, maddening) time, just the three of us. Some high(and low)lights from the past few weeks:

• The VCR/DVD player and the computer both broke last weekend, so I hauled the boys over to Sam's Club a few times while I compared computers and prices and tried to call Paul to get his input (It’s hard shopping for a computer when you don’t have one! I really wished I had access to the Internet, so I could at least look up reviews). Our old computer had been on its last leg for a while (it was Paul’s old college laptop that he bought right off his mission before we were married) so we knew its days were numbered. And let me just say I’m loving this new computer! And it has a nice big screen so I can get my Hulu and Netflix fixes from bed. :) I decided to wait on replacing the VCR/DVD player until Paul gets home. Hopefully he’ll be able to fix it! I think Peter’s finally given up asking me to turn on Teletubbies for him, and sort of gets that “it’s broken.” Yeah, I’m not feeling a great void in my life there! :)

• Peter threw up early Sunday morning last week. I decided he was ok since he didn’t have a fever and had no further incidents all morning. So I took the boys to Stake Conference (which of course was during Peter’s scheduled nap time), hoping for some reprieve and spiritual nourishment. It really was amazing. Our Stake President talked about how most of us have “to do” lists, but that we should also have “to be” lists. I guess the trait I most want to have is to be Christlike. It was just a good reminder that my activities that I do each day should be helping me reach that goal, and that I can help my children come to know Him by how I live.

• Benjamin has been really funny these days. His little personality is just so unique to him. I will admit that I haven’t had the most healthy eating habits lately, but whenever I offer him something like chips or cookies, he’ll tell me no, because those things “are not good for our bodies.” I guess it’s nice to have a conscience. :) He also keeps his room immaculate all day every day, insisting that the Gunny Monster (a “Joy School” persona) is sure to come any minute and eat all of his clothes and books and toys. I used that threat a few times months ago when he wouldn’t clean his room, and it stuck, even though since then I’ve let on that the Gunny Monster isn’t really real. He is also into weaponry these days, and is working hard on his reading goal to earn a bow and arrow. He is very much into the "Why?" stage now, but instead of "Why," he says, "Because what, Mommy?" And if I ever answer that "I don't know," he'll press further, "Does Daddy know? Does Peter know? Does Grandma know?..." It can get old. :)

• Peter, as ridiculously cute as he is these days, sometimes tries my patience to no end. I think he might be done with his high chair. He refuses to stay seated in it, and most of the time will not eat food unless he’s standing on a big chair. And he’ll often scream all evening for no apparent reason until he’s in bed. Oy. He's been going to nursery for a little while each Sunday, and today was his first sort of official day going full time. He's not quite 18 months yet, but I was giving the Sharing Time in Primary, so that's what we had to do. He did great for the most part!

• I decided to look up Easter egg hunts in the area, and yesterday I took the boys to one that I thought might be fun. I did not anticipate how cold and windy it would be, so after registering and petting a few dirty animals in the crowded petting zoo, we spent a while in the back of the van, waiting for the good stuff to start. We got out in time to watch the helicopter land and the Easter Bunny come out and make his brief appearance. Then came the egg hunts, which were divided into age groups. Peter was totally bewildered by all the commotion and didn’t pick up a single egg, but Benjamin brought his A-game to the 3 year old field and filled his basket full of eggs. It was a whole lot of madness. But I think Benjamin at least had a lot of fun.

• I’ve been using my evenings to work on projects, which has been nice. I found a really great online fabric store through a decorating blog I follow, only to discover it was really close to our house. So of course I had to check it out. I’ve been able to keep it repressed for a while, but I may or may not have a mild obsession with beautiful fabric. And this place was amazing. Plus it had a whole wall of nice, decorator upholstery fabric for around $5 a yard. So I finally made some throw pillows for our bed and picked up some cute fabric for the new baby’s room. I’m still deciding what to do with it.

• Paul found out this week at work that he’s getting a raise! I’m so proud of him. He really does work so hard to provide for our family, and does a great job at it. We’re of course thrilled that we’ll be able to reach our goals and fix things in our house a little faster than we’d hoped. We really do feel blessed.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

St. Patty's Day

So I had every intention of doing something festive today. I wanted to at least make green sugar cookies or something, but it didn't happen. I'm flying solo around here, so it's pretty much basic survival for a while.
But I did take the little Leprechauns out for a day at the Science Center. In case you didn't know, Leprechauns love science!

Monday, March 15, 2010

More Cuteness

I think it's safe to say these two are becoming best friends.

Noozles.
Thank you, Paul for filling our empty sandbox! The boys love it.

I spot the garbage truck!
I love my boys.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Getting Spoiled

I'm not holding my breath for the beautiful Spring weather we've been having to stick around, but it sure has been nice! I even spotted this little guy in our front yard this morning!

Friday, March 05, 2010

Benjamin and Me

Benjamin and I got to play a little baseball and hide-and-seek outside this morning while Peter was napping. We've been having some beautiful, sunny weather! He's getting to be a good little pitcher, and batter!
Benjamin took this picture of my 20 week mark- half way there! I think I'm carrying higher this time, but other than that, this pregnancy has been much the same as my other two.

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Mornings with Peter

With Benjamin gone at preschool most mornings, Peter and I get to have some quality one-on-one time. He loves to go for walks,
and dig in the dirt,
and play on the little slide in the backyard.
I tell you what, we're both pretty happy it's finally March!

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Goals and Life

It's been a rather uneventful week. Paul had a business trip for a few days, and we were glad to have him back. Peter is starting to become a daddy's boy, so he was really excited when he came home. I started a family food blog with my siblings where I'll keep adding recipes that we like.
This year we made a goal to cut out all the unnecessary spending we can, and build up enough savings to professionally refinish our basement. Our broader and more unofficial goal is to have our house in sell-able shape in a year. And no, that's not an announcement. We're not planning on moving anywhere, we just want our options open. So no vacations on the horizon (although I'm not going to lie- I still really really really want to go and visit family while Paul is gone on another business trip for THREE weeks!). I also can't describe how badly I want to see an ocean. Any ocean. The last time I saw an ocean, Benjamin looked like this:
But I'm dealing with it. And it does feel good to have a large goal to work towards. We'll probably just plan some smaller road trips here and there so I don't lose my sanity. I really do know in my mind how blessed we are.
So maybe all this has played a part in my lack of excitement over the news that we're having a girl. I'm not disappointed. I guess in my hormonal, pregnant mind, it would have been easier if we could have just pulled out the old baby clothes, didn't have to worry about redecorating the baby bedroom (although any changes I make will likely be minimal), and just keep doing what we've been doing. In a way, I feel like this tiny change is going to disrupt our bigger plans. But I know that's silly. And I'm sure I will eventually get excited about making headbands and bows and girly stuff. It just hasn't happened yet.