Motherhood

I remember the days- 4, 5, 6 years ago when I'd get an awesome work-out in everyday, no interuptions. I used to "get ready" every morning (make-up and hair included). I used to be able to go shopping in peace. I used to listen to "normal" music. My house was immaculate- all the time. But the reality... I was a workaholic. I stayed in my classroom long after the school day ended. Then I'd bring home stacks of papers to grade and weeks of lessons to plan. I remember not wanting to go anywhere on the weekends cause I hated getting behind. I remember being exhausted all the time. But I loved teaching and I wanted to do whatever I could to be the best.

Fast forward to today- I'm still exhausted, but I rarely fix my hair (a simple ponytail or bun is the norm), my daily work-outs are weak (on and off the elliptical, being sat on by one of the girls while doing abs, entertaining while doing weights, etc). I work 10 times harder for my house to be immaculate, and once it's clean it's usually a disaster come the next morning. My clothes are old, shopping is no fun, and when I'm alone in my car I usually forget that there's other music aside from primary and preschool songs. Sometimes I miss teaching. I miss having students who want to please me all the time. I miss the thrill of nailing a solid lesson and seeing the lights turn on for students who'd been struggling. But truthfully, I wouldn't trade any of it for the life I have now. I love (LoVe, LOVE) being a mom, and I love that I'm able to stay at home with my girls. I love that I'm their teacher. I love those tight hugs that help me know I'm the one who made it all better. I love this stage in my girls lives where Spencer and I are the ones they want the most. I love my little buddies that I get to spend every single day with and do whatever we want to do (on most days:)!

This Mother's Day I didn't get to go to church, I didn't get a potted flower or chocolate bar, and I didn't get to hear the primary kids sing the medley of Mother's Day songs I taught them last week. But I did get the sweetest gifts from Madi after preschool on Thursday.

I seriously cried after I opened this one. I have a feeling Mother's Day is only going to get better and better.

What we did do on Mother's Day: the girls I and drove home from North Carolina and Spencer drove back from Tennessee (he got home an hour and a half after us). We went on a family walk, ate leftovers, unpacked, put the girls to bed early, took a 10 minute "power" nap (per Spencer's request because I could barely keep my eyes open at 7pm), talked to our mama's, watched Modern Family, and ended the day with Spencer's on a phone meeting for his calling and me blogging.

Lots of kids, Cafe Rio, and catching up!

Tonight I single-handedly fed, bathed, and put 5 kids (ages 4 to 9 months) to bed all by 7pm! And what an incredible feeling of accomplishment I had afterwards! It was fun hanging out with the Gertschs this weekend. Matt had a conference in DC this week, so they drove up on Saturday to play for the weekend. Then tonight was some big fancy dinner for Matt and Doreen to attend so I volunteered to watch all the kids. Though all 5 kids together is usually pretty crazy, tonight was totally manageable! Just wanted to document it cause I was pretty proud of myself! :)

Another highlight from the weekend was eating at Cafe Rio!!! The first one on the East Coast just opened up in our very own Olney, MD (just a short 15 minute drive)!! Spencer and I couldn't be more excited!

And now on to go finish the many posts I'm weeks behind on! These past two weeks since getting back from California have been crazy busy! I don't think Spencer and I have made it to bed before midnight yet! The craziness never ends around here though- Spencer heads off for his annual fishing trip tomorrow night and I'm heading to NC on Thursday. I promise to get caught up after that!

My 31st!

Monday was my birthday. Nothing overly exciting happened- I wasn't expecting a lot out of a work day (birthdays that fall on Saturday are the best), but I honestly couldn't have asked for a better day. My belief on birthdays is that when it's your day, you should be able to do whatever you want to do- so that's exactly what I did.

Some of my favorite things about my day:

- a 5 mile morning run

- birthday wishes all day long from Madi and Elle

- perfect weather

- my girls volunteering to clean the house (see pic below of their teamwork)

- laying out in the sun with Madi in the kiddie pool (wish Elle could have joined us, but she was napping)

- playing at the park (and again- perfect weather)

- swinging with my girls

- popping popcorn and watching Tangled with Madi and Elle

- going out for dessert with Spencer and walking around the lake at the Rio at night

This list might seem silly to some, but to me, it was a perfect "Anie day". And it had a pretty good ending too. I came home to check my email and aside from Facebook Happy Birthday wishes, I found my inbox full of 31 messages entitled, "Reasons Why I Love Anie Jenkins". Spencer's a fabulous writer and I clung to every word he wrote, loving each and every thing I read.

Here's a couple that made me laugh (I don't like sharing this kind of personal and sentimental stuff, so the rest are for me and me alone!):

No 29: I'm constantly amazed how you run circles around me with your mad multi-tasking abilities! Honestly, it is beyond my comprehension how you are able to, for example, simultaneously juggle a conversation with someone on a the phone (not using a hands-free device), wash the dishes, cook, and have laundry going in the other room, and all the while have 3 or 4 other thoughts probably churning through your brain. I do find some satisfaction when I'm able to lull you into my world of "single-tasking", but in the end, your multi-tasking skillz are the far superior skill set!

No. 27: You are a good driver. I always know when you are pulling up to the metro to pick me up in the evening by how you take that last sharp turn before you pull into the waiting area. In the winter time, when its already dark and I can't see the outline and color of the cars, all I have to do is watch the headlights of the approaching cars as they come around that bend and I can tell which one is you. You just take that turn with a certain speed and fluidity that is different than all the other cars. I know this is such a random thing, but I just love being able to pick you out of the crowd like that. Its just another reason why I chose you babe! There's just no one else like you!

No. 24: Your patience with the girls. This was particularly apparent to me after dealing with the girls through yesterday's sacrament meeting while you were up on the stand in the choir. Here I was sitting in a 90-degree chapel, Madi is coughing all over the place (and refusing to cover her mouth), Elle missed her map and is calling for "mama" whenever she sees you up on the stand, Madi is passive-aggressively stretching out her legs ever so slowly in an attempt to kick Elle in the head, Elle is grabbing chunks of Madi's hair with a huge smile on her face... All I have to say is you are amazingly patient. Now I know our girls are actually quite well behaved compared to most (and you deserve ALL the credit for this), but I also know that you deal with this kind of stuff on a daily basis and its amazing how patient you are with it all! You will probably say that you lose your temper with the girls all the time. The difference between you and me is I lose my patience after one hour of sacrament meeting alone with the girls. You on the other hand might lose your patience at the end of a full day of being alone with the girls! You are a remarkably patient mother and I love and admire you for it!

No. 21: Your clumsiness. Now I know you probably wish you "kick this habit" (no pun intended), but I just love this about you. Its one of those random things that I've learned about you--one of those things that you learn about a person only by being with them all the time. Every time you stub your toe or walk full speed into the corner of some sharp protruding object, I feel really bad for you, but then I have to laugh cause its just you being you! And I love what makes you--YOU!

Engrossed in "Tangled" while eating Easter candy and popcorn!

Easter Weekend

This past week was a crazy one with getting back super late Monday night (feels way longer than just a week ago)- bags to unpack, clothes to put away, grocery shopping to do, mail to sort through, pictures to upload, primary music to prepare for, and songs to practice for our Easter program (I sang 4 numbers with the ward choir, did a musical number with Becky and Krista, and led the primary in Did Jesus Really live Again- with only 5 days of preparation). Then on top of all that, was the adjustment to a 3 hour time difference and dealing with a 3 1/2 year old who decided to try my patience every single day by acting like a baby (this whole baby talk thing drives me absolutely batty) and lots of sass! Let's just say it wasn't the best week of my life. By Friday I was a total grouch and ready to throw in the towel. But thankfully, it was Easter weekend, which meant Spencer's firm closed early and he was at the Metro ready to be picked up at 4pm! We rented a couple movies, ordered pizza, picked up some ice cream, and with the girls in bed by 7pm, we had a nice quiet night in. Of course we stayed up way too late though and I woke up with a sore throat and not feeling very rested. My morning workout suffered (like it had this whole week since getting back), but I gave it all the strength I could muster. Then I showered, got myself and the girls ready, and fell sound asleep on the rug downstairs with Madi playing doctor on my foot. Spencer took us all out shopping in the morning. He got me the coolest (literally speaking) water bottle (mine broke on our way out to CA when Madi dropped it in the airport)- it's a flip top (that was a necessitity), shatter resistant (obviously very important considering how my last water bottles have died), has a freeze stick built inside, and of course it's BPA FREE! For those of you who know how much time my water bottle and I spend together, I was thrilled with Spencer's find- we're inseparable already!

The rest of my Saturday was spent organizing (putting all winter clothes in the attic and pulling out all the summer clothes), attending 2 hours of choir practice, and cleaning the house- I was determined to be ready for Easter and not be overwhelmed by piles still not put away from our trip.

Easter morning started out nice and layed back- Spencer's morning phone meeting was only 20 minutes, I made German Pancakes for breakfast, and then the girls dyed and decorated hard boiled eggs with Spencer. The girls were adorable in their matching dresses and by 12:10 when Krista came to pick me up to practice our song I was actually feeling totally ready- a little rushed, but totally ready. Spencer dealt with the girls during sacrament meeting (thank goodness for Uncle Scott who came to church with us and helped Spencer out) while I sat up front. The chapel was ridiculously hot, which made for a very uncomfortable meeting. I thought the program was great though and really enjoyed myself, but Spencer had a different story. The girls were tired, Madi was being super disobedient and very sassy, and Spencer heard the guy in front of him comment how he was going to pass out from the heat. I felt bad that Spencer didn't get to enjoy the program like I did. I actually had an awesome Sunday- probably one of the best in awhile.

After church I was hoping to get some pictures of the girls in their matching dresses and possibly one of all of us in our Easter attire, but then the downpour happened! Just as we were pulling up to our house, buckets of water started to dump. Add that with some super strong wind gusts and I felt like we were in our very own tropical storm. Spencer ran in first, unlocked the door, and then ran back for Madi. I scooped up Elle and was just about to get out when the rain poured even harder. Elle started to freak out a bit. I waited for the first slightest let up, and then bolted (as fast as I could in heels) into the house. Don't know why I made the whole thing such a big deal- maybe cause I was hoping for a picture (which I never ended up getting).

Luckily the rain only lasted a bit- I would have have been completely bummed if Spencer hadn't been able to grill up his lamb kebabs.

After two years of Spencer experimenting with Lamb for our Easter Feast, he totally nailed a lamb reciepe that's to die for (and this is coming for a non-lamb eater). He made Lamb Kebabs (Souvlakia), Tzatkizi sauce, coconut curried lentils, and garlic naan. Kind of a Greek-Indian fusion. It was AMAZINGLY tasty and will definitely be the Jenkins' family Easter meal going forward!! We also loved having Uncle Scott over for Easter Sunday - the girls totally loved having him visit! After a long day, they were getting a little crazy (=exhausted) so they went to bed early (Elle at 5:15pm and Madi at 6:30pm). It was a nice to have a quiet, relaxing night. A perfect end to a crazy week!

Twin Cousins

The Sunday we were in Brentwood (the one Spencer, Madi and I spent in the Emergency Room), Elle went to church with the Calhouns. I guess Elle and Sam were sitting together and someone asked if they were twins! Sam might be 7 months younger and 6 pounds heavier, but I can totally see the resemblance. What cute little buddies!

A few wedding weekend pictures

We're back home now and finally feeling adjusted (well, at least I am- Spencer and the girls are still sleeping in until 8:30am every morning). We got in late Monday night (10:45, but didn't get home until midnight), which made for a very tired Tuesday and lots of blood shot eyes. It's nice being home, but I can't lie- it was very hard to leave California. We had a fabulous trip! Sadly I got home and realized how few pictures I took during the 3 weeks we were out there. I didn't even take a single picture of Karlee and Jeremy on their wedding day (excuse: I was a little preoccupied with a tired 20 month old), so once Sam posts his pics I'll have to do another wedding post.

I tried uploading pics once while in Brentwood but it took way too long for my patience, so I opted out of posting pics while away. Here's a couple to go along with my last post.

Below is the group of us who were at Karlee's endowment on Thursday (4/7). Poor Clark was scheduled to get in 2 hours before the endowment but ended up with several delays and stuck in an airport all day!

Girls night with sisters, cousins, and a couple of Karlee's close friends.

Bobby and I during the bridal shoot- we took our job very seriously and made two pretty incredible photography assistants if you ask me.

I love to see the temple- especially the one Spencer and I were married in. It was super fun assisting with the bridal shoot and remembering back almost 7 years ago when Spencer and I were the ones getting our pictures taken. Look closely and you can see my gorgeous sister on the bridge with her handsome hubby- a very attractive couple I might add!

During the wedding. . . older cousins took care of the younger ones.

After the wedding, while waiting for the bride and groom- Gram Rox and Aunt Annie saved the day and helped console our tired little Elle and cousin Sam.

More wedding pictures will be posted later. . .

What a weekend!!

I don't have pics to post right now (sorry Jo), but I had to record some of the events from this weekend before I forget. Thursday Karlee went through the temple. Friday morning Spencer flew into Oakland- the girls and I couldn't have been more excited to see him! Friday late afternoon Bobby and I drove to the temple with Karlee & Jeremy to help out with their bridal shoot. Sam's incredible- it was fun watching him in action. Click here for a few pics from the shoot. Oh, and I even got a little video of our crazy crew:

Friday night was girl's night out at Yogurt Pizazz.

Then Saturday was the big day! Karlee and Jeremy got married at 11am. Their sealing was awesome (probably my favorite part of the entire weekend)- it was more emotional than I was prepared for- I didn't wear waterproof mascara so I was trying my hardest to fight back the tears. Pics followed the sealing, but with a wedding schdeuled every 30 mintues we only had 20 minutes for a photo shoot. Elle was exhausted though, so taking pics was not really what I wanted to deal with. She napped for maybe 40 minutes on the drive home and that was it. I was hoping Madi would take a nap so that she could stay up and party at the reception but that didn't happen. Dinner was at 5pm and then the reception was from 7-9pm. I took the girls over at 6:40 to take pics wih Karlee (can't wait to see how they turned out), then let them eat all the treats they wanted before taking them home at 7:15pm for bed (and this was late considering they've been going to bed between 6 and 6:30pm everynight since we got to CA). We partied till 9pm, sent Karlee and Jeremy on their way, and then cleaned up till 11pm. We were exhausted- Spencer was snoring within seconds of hitting the pillow!

I was totally looking forward to a nice relaxing Sunday- which didn't end up happening. We all crashed last night, leaving the house a complete diaster. So we spent the morning getting things cleaned up and organized. Then just as we were getting ready to leave for church, Madi was twrilling around the family room, loving her Sunday dress. I heard her tell me, "Mom, I look just like Belle." She spun around, ran towards me, tripped, and went crashing head first into the corner of the wall. So instead of heading off to church, Spencer and I spent the afternoon with Madi in the Emergency room- which will be a post by itself.

But now the party's over and the craziness has calmed down. Bobby, Amy and Clark fly home in the morning and we head for Camarillo Tuesday morning.

We made it!

We're here, we made it. It was a fabulous flight actually- the easiest one with kids yet. Madi was a dream- she spent almost the entire flight doing work books (the free Highlight Puzzle Buzz books were the biggest hit). Elle was incredible, at nap time I gave her her binky, blankie, and giraffe and she layed her head down and went right to sleep- for a good hour and a half! It was a huge plus having an entire row all to ourselves, and all the presents I brought were definitenly a hit. I had wrapped presents for both the girls- one for every hour we were on the plane. It was mostly stuff from the dollar section at Target- coloring/ sticker books, Dora white boards, writing pads, new twistable crayons, Pez dispensers (a lamb for Madi- she'd been begging for it since the first day Easter stuff came out, and a duck one for Elle), a toy camera for Madi (again something she'd seen and begged for), and a little Strawberry Shortcake dress-up doll for Elle. I also brought a watch so that when Madi started to get a little antsy I could show her the time and she could watch the clock till the hour. Anyway, the present idea was awesome and tons of fun for the girls.

So it's now been 3 days since we got here and the girls are having a complete blast. They are loving hanging out with Gram, Papa, Aunt Karlee, Gram Rox, and especially "Kody puppy" (who Elle will not leave alone)! They love the freedom of a backyard and being able to come in and out as they please. And of course we're loving the sunny, 80 degree temps.

I'm so glad I decided to come before all the wedding craziness begins- it's been so much fun hanging out with Karlee and sharing in this exciting time with her. And Madi and Elle already love their new Uncle Jeremy- it's been nice for them to have some one on one time with Karlee and Jeremy.