Living It Up 2014

Part way through the year I somehow decided to modify my 2014 yearly "intention" to "Live It Up." It's basically the same idea of "Living up to my potential," it's just fell into place and seemed to fit the feel of this year. It's now that time of year where I find myself needing to clean the nooks and crannies of the house and car. All I can focus on is the need to deep clean the stroller, jogger, and diaper bags. The energy that pulsates through the air at the beginning of a new academic year is tangeable. August always brings a sense of relief as our lives begin to find rhythm and structure after a fun summer of spontaneity has whirled around us. I absolutely adore the pace that summer brings to our home, late nights, slumbering children until late in the morning, chaotic trips to fun places, days filled with vitamin D and kids looking like ragamuffins. Summer is so fun. We've lived it up to the max this summer and it's mostly due to the age of the kids allowing us to be more flexible and less stressed.

We started the summer in Disneyland... and it was MAGICAL

There were ballet recitals

I completed a 30 day "Clean Eating Challenge" lost 18 lbs and started my second Challenge yesterday. 

 Learned how to take life a little less seriously and laugh at myself. Not all trunks will fit a large human inside. But it was worth a try... and I almost peed myself laughing so hard. 

Many trips to the grocery store... and thank heavens for these "minivan carts" 

A lot of hiking... almost to the point of not needing to pack the boys anymore! 

Annual Camping trip at Jackson Lake

Girls trip to California to soak up the sun and laugh ourselves silly

I remodeled Kday's office in our basement as a surprise while he was at a 4 day High Adventure camp.

7 hours of work to frame his team jerseys (3 more not pictured) and 5 minutes before he arrived one of the frames fell off the wall and knocked 3 more down and shattered - not so awesome. 

So. many. park days. So. Many

A few bike races were thrown in there and I re-learned how to haul 4 kids up a mountain solo. 

We discovered food allergies were the culprit to this little mans poor bowel issues. He hasn't stopped smiling since. 

Every morning consisted of diapered boys in the sandbox while I tried feverishly to catch up on laundry

Mornings sleeping in and watching cartoons are a summer staple

Layla turned 5 and Elsa came to celebrate. 

Zoo trips

And more zoo trips

And somewhere in the middle of it all this kid potty trained himself. Literally, I give myself 0% credit. He decided to use the potty and in 24 hours he was accident and diaper free. 

And now we're tired... and strollers, car seats, and diaper bags need to be washed and prepared for the next season--- school and a few more trips. 

Unplugged - In the Car

Remember the old days when you would climb into the back seat of a tiny plane and fly across the country for 13 hours at a time? Oh no? Just me? Eh, well, that happened... every summer of my childhood. My family would pile into a Cessna 210 and fight over the 1 walkman tape cassette player and hope we didn't fill the "sick sack." I vaguely remember my mom packing us each a few bags of special snacks and reminding us that our snacks had to last us the whole flight. I always polished mine off before we crossed state lines. I remember coloring books. A lot of coloring books. Other than my snack pack, a coloring book, and a turn with the walkman every few hours - staying entertained was a matter of looking out the window and using my imagination. 

Today I can hardly pick up Layla's friends to hit the nearest pool when they ask "What movie do you have in your car today?" I don't get it. Well, actually I do. I get that it's way easier to tune your kids out with electronics so you don't have to engage with them. I get it because I know it can feel exhausting constantly carrying on the conversation of a toddler. But despite that.... I still don't get it. Being in the car seems like a perfect place for family interaction seeing that it's one of the only times parents aren't on their electronic devices! 

Anyway, since we travel sans ipads and DVD players - our trip to Disneyland a few months ago made me nervous as it was the longest car trip our kids had been on before. But with a little pre-drive prep and planning our 14 hour drive went amazingly. As we leave for a road tip tomorrow I figured a 5 hour trip will be a snap. But I wanted to share our tips and tricks to surviving a road trip without electronics... and not only how to survive - but how to actually enjoy your "unplugged" time with your kids. 

1. I found these awesome free printables at I Heart Organizing. this is an eye spy game and age appropriate for kids as young as two. I also printed the license plate version and we had fun working together to spot as many states as possible before we got home. Mom and Dad had to offer help but it was a good way to teach the kids how to look out the window and be excited about all the new things they see. 

2. I packed each child their own "entertainment bag." Layla had a coloring book, two eye spy books (keep them busy for at least a good 30 minutes), a sticker book, and a read a long book from Usborne. I found a little water toy for each of the kids that looks like a video game but it's like water basketball and you try to shoot the little rings into the basket. 

3. Ring pops are a MUST for car trips. I feel like they're safer than suckers because I don't have to worry about the kids choking on the stick and they last a long time. Another sucker option are the giant round suckers you can find at most gas stations - they take hours to eat and it keeps the kids mouths quiet. 

4. Hit up the local library and pick up some books on CD. I stumbled upon this trick when Layla was gifted a book on CD and I was shocked at how much she loves to listen to it in the car. The boys loved listening to the different voices of each character in the stories. 

 5. Magnedoodles: Since the boys are still in the "crayon eating" phase, the magnedoodle is a perfect alternative. They are mesmorized by their ability to erase their scribbles over and over. We also had fun with a game where Kday would draw a picture and the kids would guess what it is.

6. Rider is obsessed with Fish so I found some flash cards with fish on them at the dollar store. I hole punched the corner of each card and put them on a key ring so he could flip through and study is favorite pictures.

7. I found two Disney character fan toys. These were a big hit, they still play with them on a daily basis. Just be on the lookout when you're at the store for any cheep toy that has moving parts or a button for little kids and it really keeps their attention.

8. Look around your house for little figurines or games you already have. I pulled an Eye Spy game out of our church bag that Owen always really enjoys playing. Anything with wheels like tiny bike or monster trucks keep boys busy when stuck in a car seat. 

9. I also try to pack exciting snacks that the kids don't usually eat and use them as rewards for making mile markers without crying or getting bored. 

The kids didn't know what was in their bag and I tried my best to only give them one thing at a time to hold them off for as long as possible. I don't think we even used all their books before getting to California! It was a lot of work for Kday and I to engage with the kids and we didn't get to have our own private conversations unless all the kids were sleeping... but we really feel like it was a great way to connect with our kids instead of connecting them to electronics. I hope my kids look back on their childhood trips with fondness the way I do. I hope that when they're parents they will appreciate the work we put into being present in moment on road trips. Maybe they won't, maybe they'll curse us for being "those parents" who wouldn't let them just watch a movie on the drive.... either way I know how much I love being in the car with them and really focusing on them without electronic distractions. And I love fostering their ability to use their imagination and appreciate the beautiful scenery God has surrounded us with. 

What's you're favorite road trip tip?

AHEM.... IS THIS THING ON?

I have so much to write about. I've been wanting to write for months and yet I've undeniably found something to do with my time other than sit down, tap the keys, and spew out my enormous amounts of thoughts. So many great and wonderful things have been happening over here; vacations, graduations, remodels, rapidly growing humans, lifestyle and eating changes, discoveries, and opinions and a few soap boxes have been consuming my daily routines.
I want to share, I'm ready to share and I miss the awareness that writing in this space gave me. I miss the way writing here helped me pay more attention to the details of my day and it reminded me to process my emotions.

I'm so finding the sday that existed back in 2008-20011 - pre chaos. I want to share it. But I think there is a part of me that has been too chicken, because the more I realize that people actually started reading my written thoughts, the more they would judge me. And the more they would know my crazy. But hey, since when have I ever been one to hide my crazy? Never. Thats when.

So screw the judgment, screw the worries, I'm going to write and although I was well below average of every English class I ever took - I was always above average on daily word count, excitement for life, and awesomeness. And that's fun to read about... regardless of my tendency to I use too many commas.

Because every post deserves a picture

BROTHER BEARS

An amazing friend of mine, who also happens to be part of the Flying V's Club commissioned this darling illustration of my baby bears. Can you tell which one is which? She captured their personality perfectly!

You know how I'm all about "signs", horoscopes and hippy, psychic stuff like that? Well did you know that I KNEW this was the house for us when I saw the super random statue of two brother bears in the front yard?! It was as if the universe couldn't have made it any more obvious that this little Bears Den was meant for our growing family.

Here we are two years later and although I had plans to get rid of the "Brother Bears Statue," because it's not really our "thing" to have yard art.... the bears have stayed and it's where the nick name for my babies originated.

These two boys are gaining momentum when it comes to their love and favoritism for one another. They stay up late at night laughing with each other in the same crib. They wake up in the morning with inside jokes as they hide under Otis's crib and giggle until mom or dad finds them. The boys gang up on their sister and they are discovering how to play together in a way I had always imagined. As of late I've noticed their special vocabulary that they share. It's every day words that I hardly even notice until I leave them with a babysitter and I find myself having to give the sitter a "vocab" list with definitions!

Seer-Dots = Cereal

Bun-Tips = Buttons

Billy-Bun-Tips = Belly Buttons

Em-oh-nem-nems = M&M's

Stwaw-bah-bee-bee's = Strawberries

Ash-you-wah-wee = Actually

Ouw-gah-gore = Aligator

The Farm = Rider's Blankey

Poon = Spoon

Even Layla finds herself using their language or providing translation when she's around them. In fact Kday and I now call cereal Seer-Dots. While big sis is at school these boys have really figured out how to play together and it's so fun to listen to them giggle as I fold laundry or wash countertops. They fight as emphatically as they love and my heart swells when I think of how lucky they are to have each other. They are twins at heart, they knew they needed to find two people to get them from Heaven to Earth as close as possible. I'm quite certain they were in on Heavenly Father's plan and they giggled the same way then, as they do now at their inside joke to come to our family 4 months apart. I can't imagine one without the other. They are The Brother Bears. 

NINJA SKILLS

I'm no career woman, my 8-10 hours a month of professional work at the fanciest rehab in town really doesn't qualify me as such. I don't have a PHD in anything or an MBA, the degree I do hold is hardly anything exciting. But I'll tell you what I do have... mad ninja mom skills. And although said ninja skills won't open any doors into an Ivey League school or a New York sky-rise office... they have earned me a few badges of honor that no one can argue with, not to mention an office with the best view in town.

Although these might seem like totally useless skills, they are the details of parenting that remind me that I'm so lucky to be my kids' mom. I'm the only person who can tell you how close #2 is to falling asleep by the way he twiddles his fingers around the binding of his blanky. The smell of #1's morning breath would hardly make anyone else smile, but it does it to me every time. I know where every creaky spot of flooring is in every room of our house - so as not to wake #3, the lightest sleeper of them all. I know who likes honey on their lunch nuggets and who likes raisins instead of fruit snacks. I can tell by the look in their eyes if they're in the perfect window to be laid down for a nap or if we've missed the window and need to press on with the day. I can buckle car seats faster than most and I can tell what kind of day it will be by the way Layla makes her bed or by the cry in which owen lets out a 7am.

It's so crazy when Kday and I have moments of realization that we're grown ups, real live grown ups who are responsible for the lives of the three littles that live under this roof. We all know our kids in great detail and I love that as a mom I get to hone in on my skills every day. There are no promotions in parenting, no bonus checks come Christmas time. To the outside world it seems there's hardly even proof at the end of each day of our success or failure. But in my world, as long as I'm the one that knows the all be it small but significant details and desires of my babies lives... I consider my day a success.

BIKES VS. BIBS

Ever so slowly and hesitantly I keep tucking baby paraphernalia into storage.  It's hard for me to transition out of the baby stage. Even with the excuse that our baby stage came roaring in like a hurricane and lasted for a solid 4 years. Baby stage is everything I love about the last 5 years of my life. And although I hope for the baby years to continue on (with a slower, more manageable timeline hopefully :)), I know with a surety in my heart that I have no control over that portion of my life. If there is anything I've learned for certain from my children... it's that my Heavenly Father is the keeper of all things and He decides when and how I get to add to my family. 

I haven't dared to ask Him if there are any more yet. I think I'm afraid of the answer being different from the desires of my heart. The second thing I've learned from my most recent 5 years on Earth is that if Heavenly Father's plan is different from my mortal plan... I trust His. I'll take His plan over mine any day.  It doesn't make the butterflies of baby thoughts disappear, but I've learned FAITH in my Lord's perfect knowledge and I know over time I can get on the same page as Him - or maybe I can talk him into getting on the same page as me :) 

And last but not least, what I've learned from my three miracle babies is this: 

BE WHERE YOU ARE. 

ENJOY THE STAGE YOU'RE IN, BECAUSE IT WILL BE GONE TOMORROW. 

I'm delighting in the unruliness of my three kids. I'm happy that we have the flexibility in our routine to stop at a park on a sunny day and snacks can consist of whatever mushed up cracker or left over apple I can dig out of my bag. Bottles are tucked away but sippy cups are abound. Diapers will be traded for big boy undies by the end of the year. So I'm enjoying those diapers for now. Binki's will be replaced with big kid teeth and sassy words. Bibs have been swapped for bikes. And I like boys on bikes. So instead of wishing away the next 5 years for more children's laughter to fill the empty space of my house... I will focus on the laughter that is here and I will enjoy this dirt loving, terrible two's, fabulous four's stage of life because tomorrow it will be gone and if I don't get to do it again, I want to live with no regrets. 

The triple threat will be sweeping the local race series in the 4 and under category this fall!

MY FIRST BABY

Kish-Kash-Magee has always been my first boy. True we had a cat, Zip-Zap-Zaru, aka Zipper. But that cat never really liked any of us. He merely tolerated our family - fur-real.
But Kashi is a true companion. This dog has literally saved my life on two occasions. He has watched Kday and I grow our family and he has taken every addition in stride.

Remember that time before we had kids and the neighbor defended us to the Animal Control officer who had kenneled Kashi for jumping our fence? She begged him not to take our dog "Please officer! They can't have any kids and this dog is all they have!!!" Ha, that was the best. What a good neighbor.
He was my baby before my babies.

He thinks he's better than other dogs and deserves to be with the humans 24-7.
He hides from Owen but also tolerates Owen's over-zealous love for Kashi.
He is a jumping machine.
He loves to work, run, hike, and swim
He has the best coat of fur you'll ever find on a dog. It's like gortex.
No matter how far away he is, If I yell "Where's my baby!?" He comes a'runnin.

He's been my running partner, snow shoe guide, and companion when depression had its grasp on me. Love this dog as much as I love my kids.  Happy 7th Birthday.