Saturday, February 14, 2009
25 Random Facts About Me
1. I LOVE scrapbooking. I go to Scrapbook USA twice a year and look forward to it the rest of the year.
2. I love going to things like BYU’s Women’s Conference and Education Week. I enjoy the classes, the atmosphere and having time to think.
3. My house is never as clean as I’d like and I get on edge when it’s messy. (By contrast, I don’t mind at all if other people’s houses aren’t clean.)
4. While doing other things, I frequently listen to old talks on my ipod. I can listen to the same talks over and over and not get bored.
5. I wish I were a better mom. I should be more patient and spend more time talking to and listening to my kids. I am struggling to provide for all the emotional, physical, educational and spiritual needs of 4 children.
6. I have space issues. I need more personal space than a lot of people I know. This doesn’t mean I’m unfriendly or I don’t like you – it just means I’m uncomfortable being really close.
7. I house clean for another family twice each month. It’s a good source of income, I love the people I clean for, and I love the feeling I have when I leave and it’s all clean.
8. I have a serious addiction to dark chocolate. Dove is my favorite. I could eat it all day, every day. Are there support groups for people with this problem?
9. I love to share my baby. If you ever want to hold him, feed him, change him, etc. - just ask. If I seem hesitant, it’s only because I think he’ll probably spit up on you! I’m happy to share the joy!
10. I have a B.S. degree in Human Resource Management from USU. I have worked as HR Clerk, Specialist, Generalist, Manager, Consultant & Director. I was good at it. I also have my PHR (Professional in Human Resources) certification. My favorite part of HR was fighting the legal claims former employees made (i.e. unfounded unemployment claims, discrimination, etc.). I quit working when I had #3.
11. I would rather clean than cook any day.
12. I love folding laundry.
13. I am not a risk-taker. Security and reliability are very important to me.
14. I love movies. I love going to theatres and I love videos at home. Dreamer and my favorite thing to do is crawl in bed with ice cream and watch a movie. (Of course, I also bring a project to work on.)
15. I am not very social in large groups. I much prefer one-on-one or very small groups.
16. I love to read, but rarely make time for it. I feel guilty that I don’t, but it always gets bumped to the end of the list that never ends.
17. I hate the phone: answering it, talking on it, listening to voice mail, returning phone calls. It’s nothing personal – I just hate the phone. If it were up to me, all communication that isn’t in-person would be via computer. Some people I know take offense to this; they don’t get me.
18. I love doing family history work. I was really getting into it when I got pregnant with Cutesome and was too sick to do much of anything. Now I have a baby at home and have a hard time doing just a little here and there. I would much rather delve into it and let it consume my whole life.
19. I’m the fourth of six children.
20. I love naps. On the days I get a nap, I’m a much better mom through the evening hours. Everyone at home is happier if I get enough sleep!
21. I like going to the gym. It is extremely hard to get myself there, but once I’m there I really enjoy it and, of course, I feel great after. If only child care was simpler…
22. I need a really simple hair style. Spending a bunch of time fixing my hair seems like a waste of time to me. No matter how much time I spend doing it one day, it just has to do be done again the next! Consequently, my hair has been pretty much the same forever.
23. I have no sense of rhythm. For this and other reasons, I can’t dance.
24. I am terrible at keeping in touch with people.
25. I love reading lists like this about other people!
2. I love going to things like BYU’s Women’s Conference and Education Week. I enjoy the classes, the atmosphere and having time to think.
3. My house is never as clean as I’d like and I get on edge when it’s messy. (By contrast, I don’t mind at all if other people’s houses aren’t clean.)
4. While doing other things, I frequently listen to old talks on my ipod. I can listen to the same talks over and over and not get bored.
5. I wish I were a better mom. I should be more patient and spend more time talking to and listening to my kids. I am struggling to provide for all the emotional, physical, educational and spiritual needs of 4 children.
6. I have space issues. I need more personal space than a lot of people I know. This doesn’t mean I’m unfriendly or I don’t like you – it just means I’m uncomfortable being really close.
7. I house clean for another family twice each month. It’s a good source of income, I love the people I clean for, and I love the feeling I have when I leave and it’s all clean.
8. I have a serious addiction to dark chocolate. Dove is my favorite. I could eat it all day, every day. Are there support groups for people with this problem?
9. I love to share my baby. If you ever want to hold him, feed him, change him, etc. - just ask. If I seem hesitant, it’s only because I think he’ll probably spit up on you! I’m happy to share the joy!
10. I have a B.S. degree in Human Resource Management from USU. I have worked as HR Clerk, Specialist, Generalist, Manager, Consultant & Director. I was good at it. I also have my PHR (Professional in Human Resources) certification. My favorite part of HR was fighting the legal claims former employees made (i.e. unfounded unemployment claims, discrimination, etc.). I quit working when I had #3.
11. I would rather clean than cook any day.
12. I love folding laundry.
13. I am not a risk-taker. Security and reliability are very important to me.
14. I love movies. I love going to theatres and I love videos at home. Dreamer and my favorite thing to do is crawl in bed with ice cream and watch a movie. (Of course, I also bring a project to work on.)
15. I am not very social in large groups. I much prefer one-on-one or very small groups.
16. I love to read, but rarely make time for it. I feel guilty that I don’t, but it always gets bumped to the end of the list that never ends.
17. I hate the phone: answering it, talking on it, listening to voice mail, returning phone calls. It’s nothing personal – I just hate the phone. If it were up to me, all communication that isn’t in-person would be via computer. Some people I know take offense to this; they don’t get me.
18. I love doing family history work. I was really getting into it when I got pregnant with Cutesome and was too sick to do much of anything. Now I have a baby at home and have a hard time doing just a little here and there. I would much rather delve into it and let it consume my whole life.
19. I’m the fourth of six children.
20. I love naps. On the days I get a nap, I’m a much better mom through the evening hours. Everyone at home is happier if I get enough sleep!
21. I like going to the gym. It is extremely hard to get myself there, but once I’m there I really enjoy it and, of course, I feel great after. If only child care was simpler…
22. I need a really simple hair style. Spending a bunch of time fixing my hair seems like a waste of time to me. No matter how much time I spend doing it one day, it just has to do be done again the next! Consequently, my hair has been pretty much the same forever.
23. I have no sense of rhythm. For this and other reasons, I can’t dance.
24. I am terrible at keeping in touch with people.
25. I love reading lists like this about other people!
New Favorite Quote
I just read this quote on my cousin Michelle's blog and I love it, so I thought I'd share it with you, in case any of you don't make it to her blog.
"Build a bridge and get over it!"
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Valentine's Day - Again
I can't believe it's almost V-day again! I dislike this holiday because I am so terrible at coming up with good ideas that will make it special for Dreamer and the kids. If anyone has any ideas, I would sure love to hear them. At least it's not on a school-night this year.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Love Is In The Air
Dynamite (age 5) cracks me up. Today he announced that he is in LOVE with a girl in his class named Sadie. (She is a super cute blonde girl whose father I was friends with in college.) While making valentines, he worked especially hard on hers: he made sure her name was written in pink, he drew hearts on the envelope, and gave her 2 candies! Before heading to bed he crawled up on my lap and said that he wanted to tell me something. He said, "First, I need to tell her I love her. Second, I need to make sure she doesn't move to another place (I think he means she sits by him). Third, I need to see if she loves me. Fourth, I need to see if I really love her....I really love her." This is the first time he has ever even approached the subject of "loving" or even having a crush on a girl. It's so funny to see his little mind process how he feels about other kids.
Monday, February 9, 2009
My Dad
My dad takes great pride in being able to calm the fussiest of babies. As is pictured (left), my dad walked Cutesome to sleep one night and I was able to get a picture of it. My sister, Aubrey, talks with fondness about how my dad used to get up in the night with her colicky first child so she could get some much-needed rest. I remember my dad getting up in the middle of the night with me any time I threw up (yuck!) and helping to clean up the mess.
He has always done his best to provide for our needs and sacrificed much for our family. My dad never drove a fancy car or spent much money on himself; he worked, then gave what he earned to our family. My dad is an entrepreneur at heart and explored various business ventures as we grew up, but for most of my growing-up years he worked for someone else to pay the bills and get insurance. This was a sacrifice he made for us because it is not his nature to be an employee.
I've always considered my dad one of the most intelligent people I know. He is able to study whatever subject he's interested in to whatever extent he likes and doesn't appear to have subjects that he doesn't understand once he puts his mind to learning about something.
My sister and I have talked about how we used to watch him work around the house just so we could be with him. Once in a while, as a youth, I would ask him questions about math or science just so he would have something to talk to me about (I did this knowing his answers would be very long). I remember one time when my spanish teacher in middle school wouldn't let me make up work from when I was sick. First my dad made me go try to work it out with the teacher by discussing the problem and giving him a note, verifying that I was actually sick. When the teacher wouldn't budge, my dad and I met with the teacher and they talked until the teacher saw it my dad's way. Considering the importance I placed on my grades, this was a very meaningful experience for me. I felt like he stood up for me.
Today I know my father to be someone who is trying to improve himself, which is hard to do - especially because the "golden years" seem to be a time when some older people sink deeper into the routines they've developed throughout their lives. I want to follow his example to improve myself, regardless of my station in life. He is working to overcome the "natural man" and become Christlike. He gives us, his children, advice in an effort to teach us things it has taken him his whole life to learn "the hard way". Sometimes he gets frustrated with our failure to listen to him or our distractability, but the advice is there for those that want to take it. I am coming to learn that my dad's intentions are in the right place. I think he is trying to be the father we all want him to be, but sometimes we don't give him the space he needs to grow and shamefully I admit we sometimes second-guess his motives.
Dad, I love you. You're the best. I wouldn't trade you for anyone else. Thanks for everything you have done over the years to provide for and teach me. Now that I'm a parent, I'm beginning to see how many, many things you must have done for me that I never even knew about; thank you for all those things I can't name. I wouldn't be who I am today without your influence.
Mother in Training
Confidence loves her baby brother. She delights in Cutesome's development and with each new trick he learns. She knows just how he likes to be carried and he feels safe with her.
Confidence has been a life-saver since Cutesome was born. She is very patient with him, even when he's fussy. She methodically figures out what he wants. She even sometimes takes care of him on Saturday or Sunday morning so Dreamer and I can sleep in! What great training for her as a future mother and babysitter.
Confidence has been a life-saver since Cutesome was born. She is very patient with him, even when he's fussy. She methodically figures out what he wants. She even sometimes takes care of him on Saturday or Sunday morning so Dreamer and I can sleep in! What great training for her as a future mother and babysitter.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Sleeping Soundly
Is there anything more beautiful than a sleeping baby? I have always taken a lot of pictures of my babies when they've been asleep - trying to capture the way it makes me feel I guess. I could just hold or stare at a sleeping baby all day long if it weren't for all the other things that also need to be done. Sometimes I just sit and hold Avery when he's sleeping because it feels so nice that I can't bear to put him down. When Alex was a baby I spent a ton of time just rocking him because I knew how fast these precious months go by. I hope I remember this throughout Avery's first year because all of a sudden he will be ten (Ashlie's age) and I'll be wondering how it happened so fast.
For Avery's second through fourth months, he slept in an "Amby" bed, which is basically a baby-size, baby-safe hammock. Our doctor told us about them when we were having a terrible time getting him to sleep anywhere except on our chests. We looked into it and Rob's parents bought him one. It has been wonderful! He started sleeping through the night and when he wiggled, it bounced him (the hammock part hangs from a giant spring). We finally moved him to the crib about a week ago because he was getting squirmy enough that he would work himself all the way to one end of the hammock. Goodnight, sweet baby, and I'll see you in half an hour or so!
Vivacious the Entertainer
Vivacious is really good at entertaining little Cutesome. She sings, dances, talks in silly voices, gives him zerberts (is there a correct spelling for this?) and tons of hugs. She even puts up with him pulling her hair and yanking on her earrings and is learning to be patient with him when he cries. Having a baby around has been different than she anticipated, but she enjoys her brother and I'm sure she will like him more and more as he gets less fussy and more playful.
Cutesome's First Swim!
We took Cutesome swimming for the first time this week. He has had a particularly fussy week, but he really seemed to enjoy hanging out in the water. We swam for 2 hours; my sister Jenny and I took turns floating and bouncing him. I was surprised that he tolerated it for so long. Of course, the other kids had a blast - they always do. Confidence loves the deep pool where she can use the flippers and kick board and jump off the diving board. Dynamite enjoyed going down the water slide with his dad, even though he was sucked under the water at the end. Olivia practiced her backstroke and is getting quite good. They always enjoy being with their cousins, the Sanchez family, so that only added to the fun. We even convinced Dreamer to get in the water, despite being quite resistant. Kids love their dads swimming with them, though, so it's a good thing he finally gave in!
I Succumb!
Okay, I guess I'm going to do what I never thought I'd want to do. I'm officially a blogger now. I don't consider myself someone that enjoys writing, is good at writing or that has a lot to say, but if it will give me a place to ramble now and then and keep some kind of history, I guess I'll go for it.
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