Brentwood Thanksgiving

This year the girls and I drove up to Brentwood eight days before Thanksgiving. We spent a solid week playing and relaxing with Gram and Papa. It was a nice break away and one of the first times in awhile of going to Brentwood just for fun- no weddings, no parties, no other distractions. We had Gram and Papa's complete attention, love, and spoiling- and we soaked up every minute of it! With 3 involved adults, the girls were outnumbered and they had no choice of misbehaving. They both got tons of individual time and ate up all the attention. Madi loved going up to Papa's office and doing "pay jobs" for him. She absolutely loves being given jobs and feeling responsible. My dad would be on phone calls and everything while Madi quietly worked in the same room. Then she'd excitedly come down and show me the pictures she made and tell me about all the jobs she did for Papa. Since my dad's office is at home, it was fun having him around a lot. I'm sure we were a terrible distraction for him, but we had fun keeping him away from his work.

I had to laugh when I saw dad walking over to the park with Elle. She had refused to put on a coat or pants for me and since it was a little chilly, short sleeves and a skirt wasn't gonna cut it for playing at the park. Dad always knows how to talk sense into my girls.

Dad's the best at putting the girls to bed. Madi and Elle love to have him rub their eyes and/or hand while singing to them. He's also willing to read princess books before song and prayers which is definitely an added plus!

I remember being little and loving when my dad would watch cartoons with me. Now I wonder how much of the cartoon he actually watched!

When we weren't distracting Papa, we were hanging out with Gram. She spoiled us with lots of yummy treats- peanut butter balls, homemade wheat bread, and teaching me how to make her famous lasagna were some of my favorites.

Madi's the PB ball making pro, but this time everyone got into the action. I'm excited about having 2 awesome helpers with my PB ball making this Christmas season!

Mom was able to find lots of jobs for Madi too. Madi's in heaven anytime she's got an opportunity to help. Planting flowers is definitely in her top 5 favorite jobs!

Mom also got me a guest pass to her gym for the 10 days we were there. It was so wonderful having someone home to watch the girls while I took my sweet time at the gym every morning. My mom always does this, but for someone like me, it's seriously one of the best treats! And then coming home and finding the girls dressed and eating breakfast (on the couch) with Gram= awesome! And everyday it was something new and fun that the girls got to do to spend time with Gram.

One morning mom got the barbies down from the attic and I came home from the gym to find the floor of the family room completely covered. The girls were in heaven with all the barbies and "beautiful dresses" to dress them in. And I was pretty excited to finally get some of my barbies back to take home with me. One barbie lost her head when Madi was getting her dressed- so dad volunteered to do some surgery. Barbie and horse sat on the counter for a full 24 hours and I laughed every time I walked by!

One morning we visited Gram Rox at her work and fed the horse that's out there.

Every morning it was something new and different- like Sunday morning when mom headed off to choir practice and called to inform us of the flock of wild turkeys running around the park. I was just about to jump into the shower, but dad quickly threw coats, socks and shoes over the girls jammies and I wasn't about to miss out on the fun! There were a dozen turkeys that we found and followed through the park.

Then after church (the Sunday before Thanksgiving) Elle came home grinning from ear to ear while holding the cornucopia she made in nursery. SO adorable and super yummy!!

The fall colors were gorgeous. Madi and Elle collected "beautiful leaves" on every walk and would come home and make projects with them. The weather was a little chillier than we'd been used, but we made sure the fire place and hot tub were put to good use!

Basically, it was a wonderful week! On Thanksgiving day, mom and I spent the day in the kitchen- well, mostly mom- she pretty much made everything (she cooks like she packs and does circles around me)! I was mostly lazy and spent my time browsing through the black Friday ads to plan out my shopping (which I actually never ended up doing). After Elle's nap, dad packed the girls into the van and drove off to the Oakland airport to pick up Spencer while mom and I stayed home to complete the finishing touches on our Thanksgiving dinner. Spencer got to the house at 5:30pm and we immediately sat down to eat. It was perfect- the food was incredible, the girls were happy, and we were all excited to see Spencer.

After cleaning up, getting the girls off to bed, and digging into the pies, mom headed off to line up at Target. Originally I was planning on meeting up with mom at midnight, but as the night wore on I realized I really had nothing pressing to get and headed off to bed with Spencer. It felt great to get a good nights sleep and go shopping the next morning. We shopped on Friday and spent a nice relaxing Saturday at home. We went out to dinner Saturday night and then rented a movie afterwards. Thanks mom and dad for the fabulous Thanksgiving week!!!

Family photo shoot

Last Sunday Spencer, the girls and I headed over to Point Mugu with Boppi and Grandpa Al to attempt a family photo for our Christmas card. It was rough. The girls were super excited about being at the beach- wanting to run wild, and not be told to stand in one spot and smile. I've included a few of the ones that didn't make the cut- mostly for memory purposes- to be able to look back and remember the days when the girls were young and crazy, and taking family photos was close to impossible. Luckily I wasn't expecting much. Being pregant, feeling fat, and having a limited wardrobe to choose from would put most women in a pretty unphotogenic mood. Spencer wasn't very understanding of my unwillingness to cooperate though. Men!

This first one was actually at the end of our photo shoot- the sky was still pretty but the girls were getting tired. Madi was cold and I'd wrapped her in Grandpa Al's hoodie in hopes of heading back to the car. But Spencer insisted we come back for one more.
Elle was definitely the silliest of the bunch. She'd missed her nap- making her extra hyper. Holding still was out of the question!

Not a posed one below but I love how Spencer and I are smiling when really I think he's probably telling me to loose the attitude and at least try to make this a good experience. I'm sure I'm probably laughing at him asking him to look at our crazy girls and tell me how we're gonna get a good picture out of them.

Awww..... a picture of just the two of us! I think it's being 5 1/2 months pregant that ruins it for me. But I do love the beautiful sunset, the crashing waves, and my handsome husband- so I figured I should include it.

Always being silly!
Always waiting for Elle to come join the picture. . .

I thought the shoulders would be a good idea- I can usually get Elle to look up and smile when I put her on my shoulders. No such luck!

And this brings us back to the end again. . . Though none of these made the cut, we did end up getting one decent picutre of the four of us- all looking and smiling. The lighting wasn't the greatest, but I really couldn't stress about it. Pictures were sent into Costco Tuesday night and the girls and I headed up to Brentwood the next day. Now I just need to start gathering addresses and get them mailed out before Spencer and I fly out to Utah on December 1st.

But for now, the girls and I are having all sorts of fun here in Brentwood with Gram and Papa. This morning we followed a flock of 12 wild turkeys through the park (picutres will come later- when we get back to Camarillo next Sunday). Then we dipped peanut butter balls and ate one too many! And at church today Madi and another little boy were the musical number during sacrament meeting. They sang "My Heavenly Father Loves Me." It was adorable! I never tire of hearing Madi sing! We're looking forward to seeing Spencer on Thursday- he flys in Thanksgiving afternoon. And since I probably won't be posting anything more until we get back, happy early Thanksgiving to you all!

SO Excited!!

We've been here in Camarillo for exactly one month now (well, the girls and I at least). It's been wonderful to be able to stay here at Spencer's parents and save up a little before jumping back into the housing market. We will forever be grateful to mom and dad for allowing us to crash at their place and take over their entire upstairs. The girls have loved developing closer relationships with their Boppi and Grandpa Al. Actually just the other day Madi was skyping with her buddy Tyler and he asked her what her favorite thing is about California. Madi responded, "Boppi, Grandpa Al, and the trampoline!" Then tonight, after an action packed Saturday (including a daddy/daughter date), I asked Madi her favorite thing about the day. Pretty quickly she answered, "jumping with Grandpa Al on the trampoline." It's amazing how significant the little things are to kids.

But as much as we love Grandpa Al and Boppi, we're looking forward to getting into our own place and starting up our family's roots here in Camarillo. And GREAT news- we found a place!! We first walked through the house on October 30th, immediately liked it, and asked if they'd hold it for us until Dec. 5th (the earliest we'd be able to move in). Thankfully, they liked us and decided to take it off the market. We signed contracts tonight and will hopefully be moving in on December 6th (maybe a day or two later- depending on how fast our stuff can get out here).

I'm beyond excited- it's exactly what we were looking for! It's a single level, 4 bedroom, 177o ft2 home. It's got a 2 car garage and a cute little backyard with a covered patio, soft, squishy grass, lots of flowers, and fruit trees.

You can check out a couple pictures of the place here. I'm obviously very excited to move in, decorate, and make the place ours!!! And just in time for Christmas!

Ultrasound Day

Great pic huh!

A little inappropriate?

Nah

Belly pic: 20 weeks

The ultrasound went great. Madi went to play with Brooklyn this morning (thanks Linds for saving me on this one!) and Elle came with Boppi and I.

I absolutely loved watching this little guy move around on the screen while feeling all the movements in my stomach. That's been my favorite thing lately- feeling my little guy move around. I've been able to feel him for weeks now, but lately his kicks have gotten much stronger and more distinct. Even Spencer's been able to feel them. Check out his cute little foot- actual size: about an inch long.

I feel great- tired, but great. The backs of my legs are completely covered in veins- bulgy and spidery ones, going all he way down to my ankles and even wrapping around to the front of my legs, but surprisingly they haven't been super painful and as long as I don't have to look at them I'm ok. I bought a bunch of long skirts and dresses a couple weekends back and now have a whole new Sunday attire.

I've been able to keep up with running 3 miles a day, but pretty sure it's gonna end soon. The ultrasound tech heard I was still running and told me to stop. One more month till I get my elliptical back, so until then she tells me I should just be walking. Hmmm.... we'll see what happens.

The girls are beyond obsessed with their babies and pretending they're pregnant. Even Elle's started shoving her baby up her shirt. Madi's new thing is to pretend she has triplets- "just like Aunt Jo". I tell her if she's pregnant with triplets, she'd need to be on bed rest, "like Aunt JoSue was". One afternoon it worked too, and Madi spent the afternoon in bed. Her babies were born about an hour later though! Tonight Madi threw a royal fit about wanting all 3 babies in her tummy. They didn't all fit into her pajama top, so Madi screamed and screamed until she got at least one baby in there. I went in to check on her after she'd fallen asleep and sure enough- she was able to fit one baby up there.

Madi with her triplets, lovingly named: Caleb, Leah, and Zachary

Elle's baby- who goes everywhere with her.

Today

I'm 20 weeks today (more on that later). Tomorrow I'll have my ultrasound and get some confirmation on the gender of this little babe. Pretty positive (like 99.9%) we'll be seeing a little boy on the screen. I'm super excited to get some good ultrasound pics of him, and some good video too!

But I am a little nervous about bringing the girls along. I know they're excited and would be devastated about missing the chance of seeing the baby, but honestly they can be so crazy together (last appointment was exhausting). I feel like I'm constantly nervous about bringing them places anymore. Every single trip to Target (or any store for that matter- today it was Target) we have a melt down- about Madi taking something of Elle's. About Elle pushing on the back of Madi's seat. About wanting something I'm not going to buy them. AH- it's so tiring! I get furious and have to try my hardest to keep my cool and calm the drama down. I just miss the days when bringing some snacks along was all it would take for a successful shopping trip.

Today was no different (but I always go in with the hope that it will be different). I had 3 things on my list and was determined to get those 3 things. The girls sat in the back of the cart together- reading princess books. But then Madi had to take control over how many books Elle could have at a time, and Elle starting flipping out because she wanted a specific book that Madi refused to give her. Immediate frustration! I took the books away, pulled Madi out of the cart (all while she's crying about wanting the books). Elle's totally freaking as well. I tried putting Elle into the front seat of the shopping cart but she's fighting me and refusing to put her feet in. Finally she gave up and agreed to sit in the front. I gave them both a stern lecture and then shopping resumed. It's really no different than any other shopping trip- I always have to deal with some type of obnoxious/dramatic behavior. I'm just so tired of it. Sometime I doubt my ability to have 3 kids.

We got home and Madi skyped with Ani for a bit. They got each other hyper and Madi became slap happy. I had to end the skype to get Madi ready for preschool, but then her hyperness couldn't be calmed down and everything became a joke. She'd run away from me, say "no", and laugh about everything I was trying to do (including giving her a time-out). I couldn't get Madi in the car fast enough and off to school. I hate that I feel that way sometimes- like a sigh of relief, knowing she's at school and I don't have to deal with her. Funny thing is that she's a complete perfect angel for all her teachers- preschool and primary. They always have wonderful things to say and I'm always left feeling like those 5th grade parents I used to talk to who would be amazed by all the wonderful things I'd tell them about their kids. Why do kids always have to be the worst for their parents??

Before taking off for school I asked the girls to fold their arms so I could say a prayer (I hated how I felt inside and needed to be calmed down). I prayed for our day to get better, for the girls to be more obedient, and for me to be a better mom. After the "amen", Madi immediately tells me, "Mom, you are a good mom." I explained to her how frustrated I was with her and Elle not listening. Then with all the love and conviction of a 4 year old, Madi sincerely tells me, "Ya, but you're always a good mom."

And for some reason, at that moment, it made everything all better.

And actually, the rest of today was wonderful!

Halloween 2011

It was an action packed Halloween weekend this year. I was glad for it though. I've been so pre-occupied lately with looking for a place to live that I haven't done anything fun with my girls- no Halloween crafts, no cookies, no clever Halloween meal, not even a trip to the pumpkin patch this year. We just got costumes, dressed up and did some trick-or-treating! And Madi and Elle loved every minute of it.

Madi just became obsessed with princesses this year, so I knew she'd be wanting to be a princess. It was picking the right princess that was the hard part. She originally wanted to be "Tangled", but then watched "Cinderella" for the first time just before we moved and fell in love. I found this adorable Cinderella dress on Amazon (an actually super high-quality dress) and it sealed the deal!

As for Elle, I knew she would just want to be wearing a dress, so before we moved I got into our Halloween box and pulled out the Dorothy dress that Madi wore last year. It ended up being perfect. Elle commented several times on her "beautiful dress" and how pretty she looked!

The ward trunk-or-treat was on Saturday night which was a prefect warm-up for Elle. She knew exactly what to say, but once we got there she froze! A lot of the cars had some pretty spooky decorations, and Elle didn't want anything to do with those cars. But after 3/4 of her way around the church, Elle actually said "trick-or-treat" followed by "thank-you". She probably said it on a total of 5 cars. Picture below is Elle at the start of the trunk-or-treat- totally shy and hesitant. But once Elle's basket started to fill up with candy she started to realize how cool trick or treating is.

The girls were excited to get home and check out all their treats.

It's hilarious how obsessed Madi is with smelling stuff.

Sunday was the primary program (see post below) and recovering from a late night with too much sugar consumption. Then Monday the party started all over again. Madi got to wear her costume to school which she was thrilled about. She promised me she'd be super careful and not get it dirty for trick-or-treating that night. I had to laugh watching her hike up her dress as she headed to class- such a princess.

Elle and I popped into Madi's class for their Halloween party the last hour of the day. Elle got to join in on the pizza eating and cookie decorating. It was just fun to meet the other moms in the class and watch Madi with her little classmates.

Pic below: singing their goodbye song

Then Monday evening around 6:30pm we headed out trick-or-treating. This was by far my favorite year of trick-or-treating as a mom. The girls were adorable- fasinated by all the decorated houses and porches, and thrilled with watching their baskets fill up and overflow with candy! Note to self: get bigger baskets or bags for next year- I was shocked with how much candy the girls got in just an hour. We did the full neighborhood loop in a little over an hour and got double the candy they got at the truck-or-treat. Madi would excitedly tell me how many pieces people were putting into her bucket- shocked with how many people handed out more than one piece. We got home a little before 8pm, let the girls check out their stash, eat a few pieces, then it was off to bed. Amazingly they went quickly and happily. Then us adults stayed up and watched "Hocus Pocus"- perfect Halloween movie and a great end to a fun day!