Merry Christmas!

And all that jazz.

My new favorite thing? The reason I've been chilling with my siblings instead of blogging anything in a week?

BEHOLD THE BEST GAME I'VE PLAYED IN AGES:

BUSY!

Having all of my siblings around, and trying to babyproof this house, and chasing Guy around is keeping me too busy to even check my e-mail! I've done it only twice since Tuesday, believe it or not, and it's rather liberating.

So just a fair warning, things are likely going to be rather slow for the next few weeks or so.

Love y'all!

We made it!

We're in California, and life is good. Everybody but Katie is home, and there are babies everywhere!

Connor and Guy played really well together this afternoon, and the kids are all behaving very well, and Josh and I have only argued once. Pretty good, all things considered.

Merry Christmas, friends!

CUE HEAD EXPLODING

Actually, that's probably a bit too dramatic--really things are going fine. But it is nearly midnight and I still haven't touched the dishes or the fridge. And that simply MUST be done. So I'll do it.

Just pray for me--that the kids will let me get at least a little bit of sleep in the car tomorrow. I'm going to need it.

Other than the kitchen we're done--I just need to pack some toiletries. Unfortunately my box of craft stuff will not fit, so I'll just have to do without while I'm in California. Oh, well. Not the end of the world by any means.

Oh, yeah, and we need to cram all this stuff into the car tomorrow morning. When it will be approximately 16 degrees. *shivers* That's just too cold, if you ask me. Just too cold. Especially when getting to the car involves walking 1/4 mile roundabout on sidewalk or trudging up a hill of snow-covered grass. Fun.

We're leaving tomorrow

Thus begins the freaking out!

Okay, not really--but only because if I freak out I'll get much less done. So let's just hit the to-do lists, huh?

PACKING:
Load up car partway
Get Josh to pack his clothes
Get Josh to clean up the rest of his clothes
Choose piano music to take with us
Transfer important files to laptop

CLEANING:
Vacuum
Sweep
Mop
Dishes
Clean bathroom
Wipe out fridge

MISCELLANEOUS:
Make myself scarce from 10 a.m. to noon so Josh can study
Feed everybody three times (pancakes, pasta, and swiss chicken)
Go and get copies of Leo's birth certificate
Return library books

Totally doable. It's just going to be a long two days. Wish me luck! And good weather! Please!

There are moments . . .

every so often when I cannot handle what my brain does to me.

I can't take any outside stimulation (like babies crying, ahem), and I don't want to look at anything, because the thoughts in my head just won't stop.

Bad news: the sublease fell through. Great for them! They get to keep their apartment! Bad for us, in that I've had this hope for the last week that we wouldn't have to pay rent for four months and could save that money.

Good news: we don't have to clean out the apartment to make room for their stuff. This will be nice, since I'd just barely started and we want to leave in a little over 36 hours.

It's snowing again. It's beautiful to look at, but it's NOT nice to walk in when the construction crews have so kindly DESTROYED the only walkway to get to the parking lot. This means trudging up a slick, snow-covered grassy hill to get to the car. So not nice. I'm only glad we're not trying to move. Oh, wait, we are! Ha! Maybe I should just get the community aide to open the gate for us on Wednesday morning. Not a bad idea, actually. Hmmm . . . .

I'd like to introduce you . . .

to the fine art of playing the saw.

When I looked in front of me at church today, there was a man a few pews ahead with a saw leaning against his leg. "How odd," thought I. Then the first counselor introduced him as an old friend who was going to play the saw for us.

Here's some more information about the musical saw. Enjoy learning something new today.

Okay, now THIS is cool

I learned about this website a few weeks ago, and I'm excited to share it!

It's called Swagbucks, and the basic idea is you can run Google searches through them to "win" points, which you can redeem for prizes. My favorite? 45 points gets you $5 Amazon credit, which is e-mailed to you AS SOON AS YOU REDEEM IT. No waiting four to eight weeks, wondering if you'll really get what they say you will.

Even if I only earn $5 a month, in three months I'll have enough to buy a book I've been wanting forever. All for doing something I'd be doing anyway.

So if you want to try it out, go to Swagbucks and take a look around. And if you want to encourage your friends to use it, their referral program is pretty decent, too.

This is just one more little thing I do to try to make my life a bit more fun. If I can pay for a few little luxuries without dipping into student loan funds or the money Josh works so hard for to support our family, it makes me feel better.

P.S. Since I wrote about InboxDollars, and Opinion Outpost (e-mail me for a link), I've earned $40 through the two websites together in not a lot of time. I'm just waiting to redeem until I get to California, so that I don't miss a check in the mail. Cool, huh?

Meet Joe Black

Josh and I watched Meet Joe Black together this past weekend.

It is definitely on my list of top ten favorite films. I love the music, the pace, the INCREDIBLY expressive acting. Seriously, how can a man deliver a one-word line but communicate such an incredible range of feelings at the same time? It's as though the actors in this film are telling the entire story without many words at all. As I see the expressions on their faces, and the body language, I feel I can see exactly what their characters are thinking and feeling--as well as the progression of thoughts as they discover things about each other.

This film is the one that proved to me that Brad Pitt deserves to make a lot of money---he's an incredible actor.

Ugh, and with that, I need to go change an especially "fragrant" diaper.

Anxiety

This two kid thing?

It's dang hard some moments.

Like when I get Leo to take a nap, and then try to put Guy down, who screams and wakes Leo up. Or like when I finally take a moment to sit down and realize that my house somehow exploded and there is shrapnel on every surface and littering the floor.

And the laundry? Oh, the laundry.

I just have these moments when I feel so overwhelmed. And I'm trying to just take life one step at a time, but the list in my head keeps getting longer. It's hard to focus on this one thing I'm doing right now when the rest of my house is a visual reminder of the next six things that have to be done.

The best part? Josh won't be home until late tonight. One last group project.

But maybe that's a good thing. It'll mean I won't have to worry so much about getting the house looking decent just yet. I have a few hours to try and get the place looking decent again.

HA HA HA!

The dishes are ALL DONE! And it's only 10 a.m.

Of course, it helps that we've been using paper plates exclusively the last few weeks. But still! I'm excited to have a clean kitchen!

That just leaves laundry today. I can not BELIEVE how much more laundry there is with a new baby. I'd completely forgotten. I think we're making about two loads of laundry every three days, not including whites or towels. Sheesh!

So it shouldn't be too awful of a day at this point. I need to get started on packing lists, and do a dry run with the car and boxes, suitcases, etc. to make sure I know how much space we have. I also need to call around and price chains for the tires for our venture through the Sierra Nevadas in a week and a half.

I can't believe we're leaving so soon! I'm going to miss Wymount so bad while I'm gone. This community is really so amazing, and I'm going to miss my friends!

Too many thoughts

There are simply too many thoughts flying through my head tonight. I feel as if my head were stuffed a bit too full of ideas, and some keep slipping away. So here are some pictures of my lovely family, instead. Enjoy.

 
 

He just doesn't get it

Josh is a wonderful husband. I love him to death, and he makes me a better person.

But seriously, there are days when I look at him and want to scream, "What are you, nuts?!? DON'T YOU GET IT?"

Yesterday was one of those days. And today, too, believe it or not. I won't go into details because it's really not that important, but there are days that prove to me that men won't ever "get" motherhood. Especially newborn postpartum I look and feel gross motherhood.

Seriously.

Plans, plans, and more plans

I just finished a menu plan for the next two weeks, so that I can hit the grocery store once and be done with it. Josh and I are headed to WalMart this afternoon to check prices on tire chains and buy diapers. Thrilling, I know! I want to get all my grocery shopping done while we're there, too, which shouldn't be difficult. Except for the, "I hate WalMart" part.

I still haven't cooked a dinner since the baby was born, and we have lots of food in the freezer and pantry. I think our grocery budget this month while we're here in Utah will be something like $50. Good times.

I'm also starting to think more sincerely about what's going to come with us to California. The less we take, the better gas mileage we'll get. I just wish I fit into my clothes right now! I don't know what to take and what not to, because nothing fits.

. . . . . . .

I just ran out of steam and stuff to talk about. Guess I have to go do dishes now.

Life With Two

 

Take note of the dirty diaper on the floor.

Seriously, I changed at least six poopy diapers before breakfast this morning.

And the rest of my morning? Spent feeding children or searching for missing house keys. Which I found, thankfully. After digging through the trash twice, just in case Guy threw them in there. He didn't, he threw them in the laundry basket of clean baby clothes. Ironic, isn't it? I spend plenty of time getting dirty, and he has the decency to hide my keys in the clean clothes.

So now more laundry is in the wash (only after thinking I lost my Signature Card, only to go back to the laundry room with quarters to see it sitting on the washer. Duh.) and I'm going to watch Biggest Loser online and take a minute to relax.

Okay, not really. I'm going to clean my house, try to do dishes, probably feed the baby again and change two or three more diapers, and then if I have time plan a menu for the next two weeks we'll be in Utah so that I can spend as little as possible on groceries.

My life right now? I feel like I'm SO. BUSY. but I get very little done. I forgot how much time newborns needs from Mama.

Go, Leo!

We had his two-week check up today. As well as Guy's two-year check up. Yes, I got two kids ready and out the door and to the doctor's office at 9:30 a.m., only an hour and a half after waking up.

But my awesomeness aside, Leo has gained a full pound on his birth weight! He's now 8 lbs 8 oz, has gained 1/2 an inch in length, and has a head circumference that's well within the growth charts. He's even off of the light therapy for jaundice, and done being poked in the foot for it. Hooray!

Guy, for the record, is 31 1/2 lbs, and hates the doctor's office. Or rather, hates the exam room and the nurses and the pediatrician. Oh, well. We survived, despite the howling and the tears and the four shots. Poor kiddo.

You will be missed

Thanks for all the great advice, and for sharing your strong testimony so faithfully, Elder Wirthlin.

Rest in peace.

More info here.