Daddy turns 30...we need more hours in a day

So as I have mentioned before Matt's schedule is crazy to put it nicely. I really don't know he keeps up with all of it and stay sane. Knowing his birthday was midweek I knew a celebration wasn't going to happen so we decided to celebrate on Super Bowl Sunday. Gracie helped me make a cheesecake and was even willing to taste test it for me...although I didn't have to beg.. 

 We invited some family but they were unable to come so we invited some of our new friends Chris and Katie Johnson. We had a great time eating and getting to know them. The game wasn't anything to get excited about since it was a complete blowout so it was a good thing we had food and friends to enjoy.

 On Matt's actual birthday (a Thursday) I wanted to do something fun since he will be the big 3-0 but sadly he has a big test in his class so after working all day he will spend his birthday at class. We tried to make the best of it. The girls and I surprised Matt at work with balloons, presents, and some mini cheesecakes to share with his coworkers. And then he made some time to go to lunch with us. He picked Iggys. We had a fun time just being together.

 After lunch we walked back to the car. I love that he tries to make the most of his time with all of us. He never ceases to amaze me.

Once we got back to the car we gave him the rest of his presents curbside(tacky yes but it was either that or once he got home and the girls were in bed)

 He got a new hat he has been wanting and a few other little things. 

Oh how I love this guy of mine. I feel extremely blessed to have him in my and our girls lives. He does so much for us and deserves the world. Love you babes...happy birthday!

Cousins makes the best friends

I love to watch the kids play with their cousins. I have a lot of fun memories of playing with my cousins and growing up together. It has always been something I wanted for my kids as well and it just so works out that my sisters are great in all of us getting together. Saturday Nic's friend (Laura T.) got married in the Brigham temple and we got to watch the kids. The girls and I went to the store to get some fun snacks/treats for our fun day. They had this M&M man set up as a display and the girls were fascinated by.

 Nic and Kyle dropped the kids off about 11 am and it didn't take long for us to find something else fun to occupy our time. Matt had a lot of homework he needed to get done so I did my best to keep the kids downstairs and for the most part quiet. They were great! We build a huge blanket fort. I remember growing up my mom had quite a few encyclopedias and we would use those to hold the blankets but we don't have that many big books and is seemed really dangerous to put heavy books on top of blankets that could be pulled down on top of the kids so we used daddy's clamps and clips out of the garage to hold it all together. They were pretty pleased with the end results

 Gracie is obsessed with Kinley she always wants to be where she is and loves to give her hugs and kisses. This day was no different she kept bringing her babies and these two played so well together

Then on Wed Nic called to let me know she was coming to Ogden to get a few things and wanted to get together. The girls and I were thrilled to have visitors. After we did some grocery shopping and Nic finished her errands we met up at Maceys for some lunch. The kids were so funny and pretty much entertained themselves while Nic and I talked. Hallie and Rigs got very inventive with their tater babies and turned them into fire rods that they were sword fighting with. Needless to saw Nic and I ate more than the kids. 

 Love Rigs face he was very into the "fire sticks"

After lunch we all came back to our house and had cookies and we just let the kids play while Nic and I once again enjoyed some adult time. I think I love cousin time just as much as the kids. They all play so well together and I get some adult conversation with some of my favorite people.

A Little Thing Called a Testimony

So one of my goals or motos for this year is to "keep it real." This means to not make excuses and call it what it is. I hear a lot of people say oh I don't have time for that or money to do this but in reality we all have the same amount of hours in a day and what you choose to do in the day is outlined by priorities. Often times in the past I have had thoughts I don't have time to read my scriptures, to pray, and even to make it to the temple. Truth be told that as busy as our lives are we are only as busy as we allow ourselves to be and we can always make times for the things that matter the most. So with that being said I decided this year I really want/need to work on my testimony. Growing up I think I just followed my parents lead went through the motions so to speak. Once I graduated from high school and went college I found that there wasn't anyone that had expectations of me that I stopped going to church and doing all those things I felt were expected of me growing up. I don't feel like I have even fully recovered from that. When Matt and I got married both of us thought the other one was more spiritually strong than either of us really were. Once we had Hallie it then became real that we needed to get ourselves together. we weren't doing anything wrong but we weren't really making progress either. But it wasn't really until this year that we really have become consistent at reading our scriptures, saying prayers, making it to church, and having family home evening. I have the desire for our girls to have their own testimony before they leave Matt and I's home and I am really trying to focus on the things I know will help them to figure it out while they have us to help guide their path. while talking to my dad I have come to the realization that the spirit will never shout at me and that I may never have a lightening strike feeling that I so desire. The lord will help and guide me through a quiet voice or a warm feeling that usually brings tears to my eyes. I have to focus on that feeling and cherish it because it is what will keep me going and build my testimony. I sometimes am to literal for my own good and that's not always how the spirit works. So I have been really trying to focus on feeling the spirit, to be in tune in the moments in my day when I need to get down on my knees and ask for help, guidance, or just a feeling of comfort when the day is hard. I have really noticed a difference. Usually at church I am there to go through the motions because anyone with kids understands that sometimes you don't get one thing out of church other than being there because of wiggly and at time whiny/loud kids. But Sunday was different I prayed for it to be different to feel like I was there for a purpose, that I mattered, that God love me, and knows me individually. For the first time is as long as I can remember I really enjoyed church. I know Im not perfect and will never be but I am trying to better myself each day so that I can direct not only my path but the path of our sweet girls that I want more than anything to realize that their mom, dad, and God love them more than they know. Im grateful for the Lords patience and willingness to forgive us constantly. Here's to bettering ourselves each day.

Time with Daddy

Time with Matt is at times hard to come by with all he has going on. This semester especially he has an accounting class that he has to do the homework for so he always has a lot to get done. I am always amazed at home he handles all. Saturday we decided to get out and take the girls to a movie before naptime. Weber Satte had reneted out a theater in Kaysville and was giving tickets away as well as coupons for drinks and popcorn with the donation of a can of food. So while Matt was down at class the previous week he got us some tickets and treat vouchers. Nic and the kids were supposed to come with us but decided not to come so we let Hallie bring a friend. Since we put into place the schedule she has been so much better so we have made a point of saying since you have been such a good listener or being kind or whatever you can have a friend come with us to the movie. The 3 girls had a great time and were each thrilled when they got to pick their own drink and popcorn.

This semester Matt is gone on Mon, Wed, and Thurs. Its nice to have them not in a row in some ways so the girls don't have to go so long without seeing him. Last night the girls were so excited to see him. He is so great at trying to make the most of spending time with them. When he got home he played and helped get them into bed then he stayed up til 1 am to get all his school stuff done. I don't know how he does it but I sure love that he does. He is really trying to find a balance. Last night they played airplane...the girls loved it.

The anticipation of waiting for her turn almost killed Gracie 

Oh how much more time means when there is so little of it. I love my hubby and the wonderful daddy he is. But I am so excited for when he will be done with his masters next spring.

Parenting Can be Hard

Since school got back into session after Christmas we have found that Hallie is more sassy and just kind of a brat. One night she came to get me to let me know she had painted on her wall and then blamed it on her sister but the mess was way to clean for her sister to have been the culprit. The following day while doing her homework she cut a hole in her pants and when I asked her why she said she didn't know. We were taking away privileges and timeouts didn't seem to be doing a whole lot of good. I asked Hallie preschool teacher about it she said she had been great at preschool but that several other parents were noticing that as well. I talked to the other 2 moms we car pool with and they as well were having "issues" with their kiddos. I figured it was a part of her exerting her independence but also wanted to find a way to show her that acting that way was unacceptable.  I prayed that I would know how to help Hallie and felt like we needed to set some more black and white expectations(schedule) so I sat down with Hallie and let her know what we would be doing and implemented it the next day. I am very happy to say that is it working perfectly. It still never ceases to amaze me the power of communication. Now she earns her shows or activities dependent upon her behavior and Im loving the results. Sometimes consistency is hard but I have found the results make my life much easier once we get it in place.

Now with Gracie about a month ago we took the front off her crib and turned it into a toddler bed. For the 1st couple of weeks she did great like nothing even happened but then she started waking up earlier and not napping as well. The really frustrating part of it is that she is super whiny and I can tell she is tired. In the morning she used to sleep til at least 9 and now she is waking up before 8 which at our house does not fly...we like our sleep here. So on Monday I called Erin to help me move the queen bed upstairs for her to sleep in. She has started sleeping better although not completely like she used to. Im hoping this is a good fix for her. Although it really made me sad when I took down the crib yesterday. How come they have to grow up so fast.

A Day Out

 I have found myself getting a little stir crazy lately with Matt gone most of the time the girls and I spend a lot of time home by ourselves. It seems like we go through spurts of seeing family a lot and then not so much and maybe after the holidays I always have withdrawals I don't know but the last couple of weeks I have really missed my sisters. I have missed the face to face chats, the kids laughing as they play together, and just overall being together. So last week I called Kim got her work schedule and set a day to head down to hang out. After preschool got out Nic and I headed for Riverton. Nic was a few minutes behind me since Kinley was asleep when we left so I headed to get Kim and Luke and then we met up with Nic and the kids at Ikea and did mostly browsing but a little shopping. I think we all have grand ideas of redecorating and Ikea is a great place to dream and scheme so to speak. The kids loved testing out all the furniture and running around together. Luckily there weren't many people there and so we could still keep an eye on them. After we were done at Ikea we all headed out to Herriman High School to watch Ezra coach the girls basketball team for their game. It was a lot of fun. Nic, Kim, and I all really got into the game so it was a good thing our kids just ran up and down the bleachers behind us. Poor Rigs ate it a couple times and ended up with some good bruises on his forehead but they just kept on playing. Hallie and Rigs we so funny. We were trying to explain to them when to yell defense and when to yell pass the ball, take it to the basket ect. Hallie would cheer something really loud and Rigs was like a little echo. The kids were all really good for the game. We had al packed plenty of snacks to share which kept them happy when they would get restless.Here is a picture of there cheering section.

After the game Nic headed for home since Kyle was going to be home from work early. Kim and I loaded up the kids and went in search of dinner. We ended up and Zupas and had a yummy dinner before we went back to Kimber's. Once back at Kim's we changed bums, got everyone pottied, and pjs on before we started a movie. The kids played and watched a movie while Kimber and I talked and caught up on life and she was able to show me the houses they had put bids in on. After the movie was over we loaded up and headed for home about 8:30.  Its hard to explain but I came home that day feeling rejuvenated and refreshed. Hallie has already asked when we can go cheer for Ez again. I think days like this day keep me mentally sane. Love my sisters and their willingness to make time to spend together.

Getting Ready for Valentines

I love holidays. I remember my mom always had decorations for all the holidays and I always looked forward to putting them up. I am hoping to pass that onto our kids and the older they get the more into it they have gotten. I have found that it is hard at times to find non cheesy Valentine decor so I decided we would make some of our own. So the girls and I took a trip to Hobby Lobby after searching Pinterest and bought some tulle. This is what we came up with. It was very easy and both the girls could help which made it more work but also more fun. I really like how it turned out and I love how every time Gracie sees it she says, "oh cute."