Sunday, May 26, 2013

A Week in the Life {May 20th-26th}

Another great week in the life :)

Mainly a fantastic weekend.

My parents came into town on Friday, and suggested we take off and have some alone time. Adam reserved a hotel room and we stayed there for a night, then came back and spent some time with my parents. I sure love them.

Paige was traumatized when they went along their merry way to California.

Monday, May 20, 2013

A Week in the Life {May 13-19}

I had a major fail week as far as documenting. It's only Monday and I already feel so behind. Here are things of note:

- Paigey claps every time I understand something she's struggled to communicate with me. It's the cutest thing.
-Hannah had preschool at her house for the last time ever. It was a little heart wrenching and she is almost done with preschool.
-We had five baby chicks stay with us overnight. It was a lot of fun and the girls loved every second. Paige was fearless immediately but it took Hannah a little bit to want to pet or hold them.
-I read the book A Different Blue by Amy Harmon and it blew me out of the water.
- The Office is over and I'm very sad. It was uneven from seasons 5-9 but it ended strong and I was happy to see familiar faces.
-Adam and I went and saw Billy Elliot and that also blew me away. What an amazing musical. Adam said he felt like the whole two hours was like watching the first ten minutes of Up. He had a lump in his throat the whole time.
-I sent my book out into the universe to be edited and I'm taking a step back from it. I'll return to it in about a month for more edits. In the meantime I'm working on a fluffy chick lit novella that I hope to publish via Amazon by my birthday (the other book I hope to have picked up by an actual agent/publisher). It's all very fun.
- I didn't realize we didn't post our April photos so click on the link and let your eyes feast on our crazy April.

Looking forward to seeing my parents this weekend! It will be quite the treat, especially since Adam and I are getting a hotel and having a night to ourselves while the girls play with Grandma and Grandpa. Best.parents.ever.

Don't forget to check out the blog Becominglovely.blospot.com. It's a collaborative blog that empowers women and we have a great group of writers from all around the country and different walks of life.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

A Week in the Life {5/6-5/12}

So 'No Screen Week' was great, but it was a little different than what I had in mind. By Thursday, I was back on line and by Friday I was letting my kids watch movies again. Why? Well I was pretty tired, I admit, although Hannah and Paige proved to me that THEY could do just fine without the screen. I think I'll attempt it again in a few weeks, and maybe even incorporate a screen free day or two on the weekends or something.

The house was quieter than normal, the girls played so sweetly together. It was just nice.

Adam went to Astro Camp on Friday morning at 5AM so It's been a long, but beautiful weekend without him. I miss him a lot, but I took it as an opportunity to just enjoy my girls.

Friday we went to Pump it Up in the morning with the Packards. I was pretty exhausted, since I was up with Adam and 4AM, but we still managed to have a lot of fun. Hannah and Paige both missed their Daddy and mentioned it a couple times. Paige hadn't seen him leave so she was a little confused as to where he was and was super cranky, calling for Daddy and when I'd tell her he was gone on a trip she'd look at me hopefully and ask "Just teasing?" We came home and all took naps. When we all woke up I finally turned on the TV, still tired and a little cranky.

At about 4:00 I'd had about enough of sitting around, so I packed up the girls to go to Town Square, which I'd promised Hannah I'd take her to. We shopped a little bit, and played at the park for a while. The girls got free balloons from Old Navy which have yet to disappear, and two tiaras, because hey, it was a girls weekend and their daddy wasn't around to give me a wary look of disbelief.

After that, the girls and I went out to eat. We got a milkshake, which we never do, and I basically played referee as the girls flanked me on either side, desperately sucking the strawberry milkshake out of my hands.

We came home and watched Enchanted together, then I tucked them in and watched the movie The Impossible. I cried through the entire movie, picturing what a terrifying experience it would have been. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an uplifting story of a beautiful family.

Saturday we were invited to a BBQ swim party with the Simmons family at their in laws house. It was so much fun. At first, Paige was extremely intimidated  of the water, and clung to me for dear life but by the end she was jumping off the edge of the hot tub into my waiting arms. Hannah on the other hand was too adventurous and kept finding opportunities to get in the pool. She has no fear, which scares me. She tried to swim to me and immediately sank to the bottom, I could see her little body fighting to swim to the surface but she just sank. I pulled her up and she coughed and sputtered and with NO FEAR said "Whoa, I guess I need a few more swimming lessons..." yeah, ya think? We had yummy hamburgers and a great time, then we came home in the early evening and both girls collapsed and slept.

It's been a special Mother's Day for me so far. The girls are napping, and I've enjoyed reading the many tributes on Facebook for mothers. It is indeed a great privilege for me to be a mother and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I haven't been able to open the gifts or "project" that the girls did for me, (I got a beautiful flower pot, painted by Hannah earlier this week that she made in preschool and I love it) since Adam is away, but I look forward to that. Adam had the girls do a project and sent me away so they could work on it, which meant I got an hour to myself, to read in the park with a snow cone which was the best gift ever!

I read a few books this week: Sparkly Green Earrings: Catching the Light at Every Turn, The Selection, and The Elite, along with The Peacegiver, and Mother by Maya Angelou. Two books about motherhood, a spiritual book, and two YA dystopian romance novels. Fun week for reading!

Saturday, May 4, 2013

A Week in the Life {4/29-5/4}

Happy May, everybody.

Nothing much to report this week, except Adam got accepted into a summer school program where he will be teaching middle school reading. Yay for a job. Also, our Avery got his mission call to Colorado Springs, Colorado where he will preach the gospel to people in his native land and in his native tongue, which he could not be happier about.

Other than that, we are doing the usual... Library, park, museum, preschool, etc. Hannah is doing this thing where she is afraid of nothing because if she gets hurt or killed its no big deal to her, she'll just be resurrected. Paige has a new nickname: parrot. She mimics everything Hannah says or does. It is very funny.

Hannah has been very into Daniel Tigers neighborhood and asked if we could make Banana Swirl, which is essentially a blended banana that has the same consistency as ice cream. She learned groom Daniel how to make it. Daniel sings "if something's bad/turn it around/and find something good" so when Hannah encounters something she deems bad she'll say something like "lasagna for lunch? I better turn this around."

Paige talks like a ten year old. She is so articulate and expressive. Some of my favorite "Paige-isms include: I love you mom, okay mom, I tell you something, I hold you, I sorry mom, no Hannah. She says the cutest prayers ever. She'll say "Heavy Father, I love you. Amen." Or "bless food, grateful day, grateful food, grateful blessings, food. Amen.

You might notice I'm posting a day early. That is because I'm taking a screen free week challenge. I'll be "offline" for a week so if you need to get ahold of me, please text. Thanks :)