2 kids + 1 baby - 1 Daddy = 1 tired Mama
(***Warning, this is long...let's just say it was a LONG, but FUN week! ) :)
Well, where do I start... maybe the beginning.. :) Brian left on Monday for a week long scout camp with 14 - 14 & 15 year olds from our ward... exciting huh! He was going to try and go for 3 days, but in the end, he felt he needed to be there for the whole week, so after many tears & begging on my part for him to come home earlier, I finally gave in, and said "Farewell my true love, until we meet again on Saturday... "
Okay, I actually didn't cry & beg, instead I tried to prepare myself for the week. I knew that in order to keep my sanity in check I needed to do something fun with the kids everyday. I needed to do something fun so that when 5:00 rolled around (when Daddy usually gets home) we had something to entertain us. So, here is what I learned for this week.
1. Draw a calendar for the week with pictures of each days events so the kids don't keep asking "when are we going to do this?"( It worked wonderful & the kids loved seeing what we were going to do for the day)
2. Make sure you always live next to wonderful neighbors like the Heatons... that
you and
your kids love. I'm not sure how to do this... I think if we ever move, we'll just move the Heatons with us. :)
3. When you feed the ducks, make sure to bring lots of bread, and let the kids have their own bags... it's makes them feel so important, and when you give the ducks a piece of bread, it's so much nicer to give them "the whole slice, or bun" so they can take their time eating it. :)
4. When swimming, if the water feels warm.... SWIM AWAY!!! And of course... enjoy it! (eww, not the warm water.. swimming :) I wish I could have gone down the little blue slide. :) Oh, and it is okay to have a "white" body!
My kids never told me they wished I had a better tan. :)
5. The children's museum is a blast for both adults and kids! My mother-in-law and sisters n law are so sweet to come with me and help me so much with the kids. The best thing I learned from the museum is to go in the little kitchen and start pretending you are the child and ask the "mommy's and daddy's" for chocolate milk, pancakes, etc. You would NOT believe the service I got from about 10 mommy's and daddys... I think the whole table was full of food just for me. I started to feel a little embarrassed when other mom's starting taking pictures with "ME" in them... I don't want to be in random people's pics. :) Oh, and while I was dining, I got to talk to Brian.. I told the "mommy's and daddy's" serving me that I had to go because my boyfriend was calling me. ha ha ha ha :) Morgan looked at me like I was crazy!!!! :)
6. The candybars in the store at the museum are "NOT" real... which is why I didn't actually put it in my mouth...my daughter on the other hand thought the doughnut was real though... eeeewwwww gross! :) she does look cute though. :)
7. It is so important to show your kids what the temple is, and what it means to be married/sealed there.
8. Brian treats me like a Queen...seriously! I have not had to sleep on a hard ground since we've been married... he always blows up an air mattress, so it was kind of hard for me to stay on a hard floor in my sisters unfurnished apartment, but it was so nice to stay with her. Thanks Brianna! Oh, and if you have to stay at an unfurnished apartment because you want to save money on the ridiculous cost of gas, have your brother bring M & M's for your kids, but secretly eat them all for yourself! :) (Thanks Cam & Brianna... I really loved staying with you and talking with you! )
9. Take time to visit good friends... it's so fun when a friend you have known since you were a kid has kids that can play with your kids. Thanks Ali!
10. Visit your grandparents! They are such amazing people & I admire them so much! They are both in their 80's ( well grandma next year) and keep living life & doing amazing things. Grandpa took the kids on a walk, and Grandma made these cute little animal blankets, and let the kids have them. They are so sweet, and even though it was a 2 hour fight to get my kids to sleep ( thankfully I didn't beat them) it was so worth it to visit my sweet grandparents. I love them so much, and it was really hard for me to realize that someday they will be gone from this earth life. My cute cousin came over too, and was a big help with the kids too!
11. Take some time for yourself! And, if you can, go out to dinner with a good friend, and just laugh and relax!
12. I've learned that I need Brian to listen to me at the day's end. Even when I would lay down at night my mind would still keep talking... blah blah blah... all my concerns or worries or thoughts, that I normally speak aloud to Brian, and instead my mind kept talking, and I couldn't get her/me to be quiet. :) Don't worry I'm not crazy ...yet! :)
13. The most important thing... I am so grateful that even though it was a long week... my kids are amazing, and I love them more than anything! I'm so grateful I had this week to spend with them, and not by myself. I'm so grateful I'm married to such an amazing guy! He helps me out in so many ways, and I'm so grateful at the end of the day I have him to talk to. I love him so much, and I can't wait for him to get home tomorrow!
Well, what do you think? Don't I just look gorgeous? I'm sure Brian still would have married me if this is how I looked when he first met me... manly, but hey, at least my teeth are white. :) For the youth activity last night, they all went to this huge hill and went on the water slide. I have always wanted to do this, so I asked Brian if I could tag along with him since all the Y.W. were going too. We had a blast! I think I got the dirtiest... thanks to Brian pressuring me into going face first smack into the mud. Why is it we always want to do things to impress the guys? We were laughing so hard!!!! One of my good friends is a leader, and she an I, along with another leader kept racing each other down, and of course we all went farther than the kids... taking out grass with our "little behinds" as we slide down onto the grass. I have not had that much fun in so long! We definatly need to plan another night with some friends to come with us. So, if you live close, or you want to fly here, we've got the tarp, and the hill, so we'll plan a night for you and your sweetheart to come and play, and of course get some mud on ya too. :)
2 adults? We're still kids at heart. :)
Brian racing one of his scouts. We had so much fun playing with the youth!
