Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day was good. Breakfast was prepared for me. The girls painted me pictures. Annie gave me a 'Mother's Day' pin she made in preschool, and you've never seen a three (almost four) year old so excited about anything in the world. She ran around calling me the "Mother's Day Girl" and giving me lots of kisses. Ellie didn't quite get it, but didn't want to be left out, so she gave me lots of random hugs and loves too. Their competitiveness has some perks. An added bonus -- Ellie took a nap before Church, which doesn't always happen, and makes Sacrament meeting go much smoother. And then, 'cause she had a snotty nose, we dropped her off at my parent's house rather than fight her about going to nursery, so it was like we got a 'get out of parenting free' card for the last two meetings of Church. :-)

After Church, my family all met up at my parent's house for a Mother's Day barbecue. All of my grandparents, siblings, and many of my Aunts & Uncles were there. Even my sister Lacy. (Hi, Lacy!) The girls had a blast, being the youngest and, as always, the center of attention. Ellie gave all of the great grandparents an extensive lesson in sign language, and also showed off her newfound ability to refer to us (occasionally) as Mommy, Daddy and Annie (instead of Mama, Dada and Anna). She has also started calling Cody, my little brother, "Doh-dy". Which kinda makes us all sad, as we were all quite fond of (and have adopted) her previous nickname for him. "Doh-doh." We think it suits him. :-)

And in the tradition of all great family parties, there was a water fight (in the kitchen; my Mom threatened everyone's life if there were water spots left when clean up was done), a huge Nerf war complete with nefarious scheming and surprise attacks (my girls are surprisingly handy with a Nerf gun), wrestling with Grandpa (where Annie showed off some amazing fighting moves), and Star plucked people's eyebrows. The only thing we didn't do was play cards, but it was getting late and it was time to get the girls home for bed.

Mommy and her girls on Mother's Day, 2010.

Uncle Karl loves a good joke -- and Annie wanted to show off her side-splitting 'knock knock' joke ("Boo", "Boo Who" "Don't cry, it's only a joke.) So, here's Annie sitting with Great Grandpa and amusing Talina and Uncle Karl with her comedic prowess.

Annie and I

Probably my favorite picture of Annie from the whole day.

Annie with Aunt Star

Ellie & I

Annie hanging out with Great Grandpa -- they just look so cute together.

Aunt Talina & Annie

Ellie looking at a picture book from our last vacation with Great Grandma.

Another couple Annie pictures I loved.

Ellie eating ice. Her favorite past time ever. Taking pictures on Aunt Talina's cell phone. Second favorite past time.

Ellie chilling with her Dad. Up on his shoulders, while sitting on the couch. Of course.

My Grandpa and Uncle Karl giving each other 'eskimo kisses' while Grandpa sings to Karl while putting in his painful eye drops. Grandpa is so unbelievably tender and loving with Karl, it always melts my heart.

Uncle Karl hanging out with the girls.

Annie and Grandma

Uncle Karl loves to untie people's shoes. Greg always 'accidentally' finds his foot way up on Karl's wheelchair armrest, and Karl laughs uncontrollably the entire time he unties Greg's shoes. Annie originally ran up yelling, "I'll save you Dad!" and holding her hands tightly over the shoelaces so Karl couldn't get to them. We were all laughing, and had to explain that Dad was fine and didn't need protecting. She was amused once she got the 'game'.

Here's Annie getting ready to attack Grandpa. She was making the funniest faces, then attacking him like she was fencing without a sword . . . then she'd poke him, jump back and run away, shouting, "I won! I won!" triumphantly. Her reasoning, "I didn't get hurt! I win!"

Ellie's moves were a bit more 'sumo-ish', but equally amusing as she'd also prepare to charge at Grandpa Robert.

One of the many times Star's tweezers were put to good use. Nothing says 'Mother's Day' like tweezing!

Happy Mother's Day, Y'all!

Our First Day with the New Camera

We've begun experimenting with the new camera.

Greg took 153 pictures in approximately 10 minutes. He's like a kid at Christmas, that husband of mine. I took another 90 or so throughout the day. We just added about nearly a GB of photos to the hard drive. I think we're gonna need a bigger hard drive.

Disclaimer: we have no idea what we're doing at this point. With a little more practice, and a whole lot more understanding of how it all works, we will one day look back and laugh and our pitiful attempts at picture taking. Also, I took all of the outside shots in the bright, bright sun -- thus the harsh shadows. Mother Nature apparently didn't get the memo that we needed an overcast day for our first day with the new camera. Also, neither of my girls had their hair brushed today. I am aware of that fact. Anyway, disclaimers out of the way, you should now feel free to enjoy a few of the pictures . . .

Ellie, bright and early this morning. She was a perfect little model, cheesily smiling, while we waited for her older sister to wake up.

Here she is again, this time enthralled by Elmo.

Annie came stumbling in around 7:30AM. She made it to the bed, but then kinda collapsed and stayed right here for another minute or two.

Watching Elmo together. Annie seems confused, and still dazed. Ellie's fascinated.

Here's some of the outside shots -- again, harsh shadows, but I loved some of 'em anyway.

Annie running towards the camera.

Annie kept running, all the way up 'til she was staring down the lens of the camera.

Ellie, likewise, does not understand the camera's personal bubble.

Annie again.

This wasn't the best quality picture taken -- all of them from our bathroom had a yellowish cast -- but I just liked Ellie's attitude shining through.

Annie being cheesy in the bathtub.

Ellie in the tub too.

Now I gotta go read up on aperture and shutter speeds and stuff. The camera came with a good 4 or 5 manuals. And maybe there's a section in there about getting rid of the yellow caused by bad indoor lighting.

My "Day Off"

Just an update on my weekday where I wasn't solely responsible for the children: I still didn't get in three hours of left-side-lying. I really kinda suck at that.

But, I did nap.

And I listened to my 'Hypnobirthing' CD in the middle of the day, rather than right before bed, which means whereas I'm usually out within 4 minutes and hear very little of the CD, today I listened to a full 15 minutes before I was fast asleep (on my left side -- for the next hour). Success!

I took a long bath while finishing the book I've been reading all week.

I did my hair super cute. And now I won't have to straighten it tomorrow, and possibly Saturday.

I didn't cook a single thing.

In fact, I ate breakfast in bed (while folding clothes, but still!) I didn't actually leave the upstairs until after noon.

And I got four different graphics jobs done, and there is not a single 'starred' thing left in my email inbox. (I star anything I have to follow up on. I caught up completely today. Go me.)

Greg picked me up angel food cake to go with the strawberries we have in the fridge.

I folded and put away three loads of laundry. Do you know how often I sort laundry into nice little piles all around my bedroom, and then those piles sit there for several days, making my room look cluttered and junky? The vast majority of the time. Today, while Greg got the girls breakfast ready, and (from the sound of it) played endless rounds of "Ring Around the Rosies", I got everything sorted, folded, hung up and put away.

Greg took the girls to run errands, and they ended up going to his parent's house and eating dinner, while I stayed home and had the house to myself.

And, we got a new Nikon D5000.

Today was a very good day.

The best part is -- tomorrow I'm solo again, but then it's the weekend!

Thanks Greg! I love you! Consider the new camera your 'thank you' gift! :-)

Sisterly Love

My kids have gone from (typically) sweet sisters, to cage fighters out for blood. They can't be within 5 feet of each other before one of them starts swinging and scratching. Fortunately, neither are biters, or we'd have more bleeding.

Add to that the constant whining, crying, sobbing and shrieking and I'm convinced that they're somehow both entering early puberty, and the only thing I can think is to blame something in the environment. Pollution, maybe? Pollution or preservatives.

This is a phase I can't wait for them to be over.

Add their lack of sleep to their attitudes as of late, mixed in with me having a couple projects I'm feeling behind on (I'm not really behind, I just feel behind 'cause I'm stressed and pregnant and hormonal and not getting in my three hours of prescribed 'side lying' a day, and therefore suddenly prone to excessive weepiness), and it all equals everyone being a little on edge at our house these days.

The plus side -- after my complete mental breakdown on the phone with Greg this morning, he's insistent on taking tomorrow off work to take the girls on a Daddy/Daughter play date . . . far, far away from Mom. Who'll be at home. Lying on her left side.

Lots of Randomness

After Ellie had covered herself and the back patio in mud, I had to strip her down and send her inside while I hosed down the concrete. Most of the dirt and mud was gone, when Annie walked up behind me, examined my work and commented, "You're making really good progress Mom . . . but you missed some over there . . ."

She's so helpful. At least she was impressed by my 'progress' . . .

In other news, Annie was describing her upcoming birthday (May 19th) as "FOREVER AND EVER AWAY, but super, super, SUPER, SUPER close!!!" (Followed by several excited high pitched shrieks.) I know exactly how she feels though, 'cause I had my 32 week appointment this morning. Less than two months from my due date. Time is flying, but seems to be standing still, all at the same time. It's coming up too fast -- our sandbox isn't finished, the baby's room hasn't even been started, and we haven't even poured the concrete for the new shed (these being the three main projects I want done before the baby actually arrives).

The appointment went well, and I've been feeling pretty good, but with my ever dropping blood pressure (it was 88/52 today), I've still been having a lot of dizzy/weak/near-fainting spells, and they're picking up in frequency. We'll be adding yet another iron supplement, as well as B6 & B12 supplements, to my nightly handful of pills I swallow, which should help. I've also been 'ordered' on a very MINOR modified bed rest, where I am supposed to lie on my left side for an hour at a time, three times a day. The theory is, that since I'm getting dizzy and weak from low blood pressure, the baby might be suffering from it too . . . the side lying will help more blood flow to the placenta and baby, and help ward off any possible 'slow fetal growth' and get him all the nutrients and blood he needs. If the dizziness stops, I won't have to keep doing it, but for now I'm working on explaining to Annie and Ellie why Mom is just lying around every couple hours :-) I plan on getting a lot of reading done. Or just trying to referee two shrieking girls from a side-lying position. We'll see how it goes. :-)

Also unrelated, Annie just came up and whispered to me, "Mom, do you know what I'm getting you for Mommy-tines Day?" "Mothers Day?" I asked. "Yeah," she smiled, then in an even lower whisper, "A card and a present, and Daddy'll help me 'cause it'll be your day. Then on Daddy's Day, we'll make him a card and a present, and you'll help me. He can't help me then. Because he is too, too, too special that day. And soon I'll be a Mom, and I'll be the special one, and I'll have a note and a present from my kids, and their Daddy'll help them."

And then, the last piece of randomness -- my father in law just downloaded some pictures he'd taken last month of the girls while we were at Wheeler Farm. And I was lying in wait with a flash drive, ready to jump all over any cute pictures of my kids. Here the two girls playing in the little clubhouse area.

Greg and Ellie coming out of the clubhouse.

And Ellie, Greg, Annie and Aunt Andrea (see where Annie gets her curls?!)

Grandma's 85th Birthday Party

My Grandma just had her 85th birthday -- so my Dad's whole family got together and had a big party for her. It was a lot of fun, and I saw cousins and second cousins that I haven't seen in forever (or ever, for that matter.) The kids had the best time -- Annie was in heaven, as there were three other curly-haired blonde little girls to run around and play with. Their favorite thing was to jump around like tiny crazy people in the bouncy house, squealing uncontrollably. I told Greg, "Aw, Annie found people who speak her language," as we could hear their enthusiastic squeaks and squeals from across the building. :-)

Here's Annie in the bouncy house.

Daddy and Ellie (who is making a weird, weird face.) :-)

My sister Star and I.

Star and my cousin Dyani in back, and Talina and I in front.
We were very impressed we got all four of us in a self-portrait. It takes skills.

Star and grumpy Ellie. (The party started at 1PM -- right around the time Ellie wanted to nap; she did surprisingly well, but had a few meltdowns. For that matter -- so did Annie. It was a late afternoon for my girls).

The cake was a highlight of the day for Ellie.

Here's a four generation picture for Ellie's scrapbook (too bad she wasn't smiling!)
Me, my Dad, Grandma and Ellie.
One family there was able to get a five generation photo with Grandma -- how cool is that!?

Here's the four generation picture with both girls -- Ellie was grumpy, and my Dad was making a weird face -- but I liked this one the most :-) Sorry, Dad :-)

Ellie happy to be done with formal pictures.

Trying to get shots with Annie smiling was a challenge. My Mom was getting finally able to get her to smile, but it involved all kinds of ridiculous physical comedy, which meant Annie (and Grandma) usually weren't looking at the camera, but watching my Mom instead. :-)

Here Annie is smiling -- 'cause if you notice there are two little orange triangles flying right towards her face and elbow; my Mom was throwing pieces of cheese at her, while telling her to say "cheese!" This shot was right in the middle of a throw. :-)

Ellie was little Miss Fearless in the bouncy house. Surrounded by kids twice her size, she was a little daredevil and was jumping with reckless abandon.

Ellie looking slightly crazed while jumping. :-)

The Real Reason I Had Kids

And once they know how to unload the dishwasher without my help, my life will be complete. :-)