What a week. Sometimes I feel like a week is so short but then when I think back I can't believe so much happened.
Lately I have been trying to be more proactive about doing my chores. I have found that in doing this I have felt much much more productive come bedtime. We have started having Elsy help more with the chores this last week too. She takes her plate to the sink (she threw a big fit at first but now that she knows she can do it its a lot better), helps fold the laundry (she just rolls things up haha), makes her bed (rolls her blanket up while I make it), and we are even trying to have her clean up her room before she goes to bed each night. I figure I should take advantage of this time while she still loves to help and make it a habit before it gets to be to much of a chore for her. We have been practicing her taking her clothes off and on but this one is really frustrating for her.
Wednesday was kinda a rough day for me. We were out of milk so I started it off with some half and half with my cereal. Then at Costco someone told me I had a screw in my tire (thank goodness for kind people), then when I got home from Costco I found out that my laundry detergent leaked in my trunk, I made a dessert for Activity Days that we didn't eat, someone yelled at me for driving across a crosswalk without stopping for them, and I wasn't able to make dinner because I had to go to Les Schwab to get the tire fixed before driving all the activity day girls to the temple. It ended with Elsy falling on her face and getting a fat lip while she was at mutual with Logan and it hurting her so she didn't go to sleep until almost 11pm and Logan heroically killing three large spiders in the garage and catching a rat in the garden trap. Aye yi yi.
Some days are better left to forget about... but it's like they say you can't know good without the bad. Going to the temple with the Activity Day girls was actually really wonderful. I went with two of the other leaders, Janalee and Lacie. Janalee taught the girls about the history of the temple and the symbolism in the architecture. We took pictures of each girl in front of the temple and then they all got to write in their journals. The evening started out a little rough (girls climbing on statues and running off the paths) but once the sun started to set and it got darker the mood changed to reverence. The girls began singing "I Love To See the Temple" as they walked around. At the end we went to the west side of the temple where it says "Holiness to the Lord, the House of the Lord". By then it was completely dark and the temple was so bright. Us leaders shared our testimonies with the girls and it was so special. I hope each of those girls remember that day for a long time. :)
Now back to that fat lip. I feel like this picture does not do the fat lip justice. It was a dosey and she was in so much pain. We finally got the little girl to bed but when we did we discovered she couldn't suck on her beloved pacifier. She would just cry and cry and say "It hurts! It hurts!" She was crying because her mouth hurt but I think she was crying the most because she couldn't user her pacifier. For a while now she has only been allowed to have her fadoo (a word for pacifier my family used) at bedtime and nap time. But she was totally addicted to it. During the day she would say "Mommy I getting seepy!" (sleepy) in hopes of me letting her go lay in bed with her pacifier (which I don't get because I never let her do that anyway so I don't know why she hoped...) She would tell she was sleepy whenever she was sad or bored or actually tired.
Anyway, Logan and I had been talking about having the Fadoo Fairy come soon. I had gotten the idea from Pinterest to have a fairy take the pacifiers because it makes it really exciting but also takes the blame off of your shoulders. "Oh I'm sorry you want your fadoo, but the Fadoo Fairy took them all!" You are not the bad guy. *wink *wink We wanted to do it but weren't sure of when we wanted to take away the pacifier because I was afraid of Elsy dropping her nap (my cherished time of the day). Well, after almost two hours of Elsy crying I decided that she couldn't have her fadoo anyway so might as well take advantage of the moment. Luckily we had already explained to her about the Fadoo Fairy to get her familiar with the idea. I told her tonight was the night. She seemed a little concerned but also a little excited.
Well, that night I woke up and decorated her room with streamers. The bad thing about deciding on a whim to have the Fadoo Fairy come is you are not prepared. I had two balloons and three water balloons that we blew up to put on the floor... and one of the big balloons popped because it was so old. Grrrr. Originally I had wanted to get helium balloons but oh well. We also didn't have the toy that the fairy was supposed to leave (she takes the pacifiers and leaves a gift). So Logan made a ticket for her. We told her she could take it to the store the next morning and pick out anything she wanted. The next morning she again seemed a little concerned when we told her all her fadoos were gone but that soon became excitement as she got to enjoy the rainbow streamers and think about what she wanted to get at the store. Sadly Logan accidentally took Elsy's car seat to work with him so we had to wait to cash in the ticket.
So next time we do the Fadoo Fairy I will be getting the gift first. Learn from my mistake: Don't give your kid a ticket and tell them they can get whatever toy they want at the store. They WILL choose the most expensive thing they can find. Luckily I was able to talk her down from an amazing Ariel doll that glowed and sang and swam and could dance and fly and have full on conversations and turn everything she touched into gold (okay she couldn't do all that but she could to a lot of stuff for a pretty penny) and we got a set of Disney Magiclip dolls instead.
She has had her moments but the transition has been relatively uneventful. I am so proud of her for sleeping on her own. If she is having a hard time I tell her that sometimes I have a hard time falling asleep too and when I have a hard time I "Close my eyes, snuggle in my blankets, and wait." Haha it is so cute to see her doing those three things. Naps have been a little rougher but she is getting better at going to sleep on her own so... fingers are crossed and naps are still happening thus far.
Still, I am going to miss hearing Elsy talk her jibber jabber from behind her fadoo (sa-ooo is actually how she says it because she can't say her f's). And when she says her prayers at night she would lean her head way back and then have it fall forwards and spit her fadoo out and say "Patooey!" so she could pray. But it has been fun having her sing songs with me at night instead of just listening. I had no idea she knew all the words!
The princess and the frog!! I wish these were their Halloween costumes but Tommy had his feet pretty squished in this costume my friend Whitney gave me. So now we will have to think of something else.
We headed to Cottage Lake park on Friday to play but apparently they tore the toy out to build a new one and the lake was blocked off because of "Toxic Algae". Uh, things haven't gone my way this week at all. So we headed to the library instead. We try to go every other week or so anyway to get new fun books. Elsy loves to look at books so we are always looking for a fresh crop. Tommy had so much fun pulling the drawers of books out and in and out and in in the kid section. And I just love that first picture of him. That is his classic face he is always making at me. Adorable.
Because I was busy on Thursday making handouts for a Relief Society activity and also making a dessert and then going to the activity... I forgot to get a babysitter for Logan and my date on Friday night. We couldn't find one on such short notice but decided to go out anyway. Bad idea. B-A-D. After walking all over town to five, FIVE! different restaurants we finally found one that would take minors and didn't have a super long wait. We ended up at Canyons and I don't think we will ever go again, not because the food was bad but because we just had a hard time with the kids. By the time we got there Logan was in his own words "Hangry" while I was in adventure mode... and by the time we were done eating he was chipper and I was quite frazzled because the children. (Tom kept sliding out of the high chair and had to sit and buck me while I ate and Elsy was climbing the walls) Logan and I decided the experience was expensive in more ways than just one and that it was the antithesis of a date and should never be done again. We rented the new Cinderella movie and had a wonderful date night in after the kids were in bed instead.
On Saturday we went to Rattlesnake Lake. It usually is a lot bigger, but a dry summer made the lake shrink down really low.
We packed the kids and took them out. We didn't do as much hiking as we had planned but it was still fun.
Packed some sandwiches for dinner!
Elsy and Logan were content to throw tons of rocks in the water. Elsy got good and muddy. I hope you can see her crazy face in that first picture. She is such a character. It was just beautiful to be out in the mountains. There are so many lovely creations. One of the nice things about living in Western Washington is having so many beautiful places to visit.
Our week ended today with nursery being cancelled due to a Hand, Foot, and Mouth plague going around in our stake. It made for some excitement in all the classes I think, what with having the little kids around. But I was still able to feel the Spirit. Lately I have been having a lot of personal struggles and this morning while nursing Tommy the song "I Know My Father Lives" randomly came to my mind and the words really touched me. Then, for the closing hymn, we sang the exact same song in Sacrament Meeting. I couldn't help but realize that the Lord was trying to tell me something through the words of that song.
"I know my Father lives
and loves me too.
The Spirit whispers this to me
and tells me it is true,
and tells me it is true.
He sent me here to Earth
by faith to live his plan.
The Spirit whispers this to me
and tells me that I can,
and tells me that I can."
I am so grateful for music. Almost always the answers to my prayers and questions come through the lyrics or feelings of a song. I know as we remember the Lord loves us and go throughout our days with faith in His plan, even when things are hard or don't seem to b e going our way, we will experience the most joy.
One thing I have been kinda frustrated about lately is how many times people think I am a nanny and not the mom of my children. Or when I am at the grocery store and someone says something along the lines of "Oh, a day with the kids!" as if it is something that I wouldn't normally do. Are there really not that many people my age having children? Are there really not that many women who chose to stay home with their children instead of entering the work force? Logan and I frequently hang around with Tommy in my front pack and Elsy walking next to her daddy-o. Yesterday we saw a lady walking with her dog in her front pack and her man holding a leash to another dog. Now, I know that there are many situations that lead to a couple not having children and therefore getting pets instead. Pets rock. But more and more frequently I feel like I see people having pets instead of having children. I have never regretted my choice to stay home and have children. In fact, can you believe it, I want more!? Even when I am wiping baby rice off my skirt before church! Even when I'm cleaning puke out of my freshly washed hair! But especially after listening to my two year old say her prayers at night! And especially when my little man grabs my arm in a tight hug when he wakes up. Especially when I hear my kiddos laughing hard at each others silly faces. And most definitely when my little girl stops while we are laying and playing little people and hugs me for no reason and says, " Thanks for playing wiff me mommee!"
