Happy Mother's Day to Me!

This Mother's Day didn't turn out the way I had envisioned it. My kids were crazy at church and it seemed like pretty much every aspect of the day was a huge struggle.  I was super glad when it was all over.  I felt more like an incompetent mother than anything else.  I have to admit though, I usually get down on myself on Mother's Day.  There is just so much more that I feel like I should be doing as a mother and just don't have the time to do it all.  Also, having patience and not yelling is a hardship.  I feel like I'm getting (slightly) better at those things.  I guess I need to just be more accepting of myself.  Anywhoooo, Josh did get me a yummy jar of chocolate covered raisins from Costco.  Also, and this is my favorite thing, he improved the look of our backyard!  He painted our white picked fence, ripped out some old plants that we were a little underwhelmed about, resoiled, put ground cloth down, mulched, and planted 4 very beautiful plants that I absolutely love.  They're called, "hardy hibiscus". I love and enjoy their daily blooms. Looking back on my Mother's Day I just have to laugh. Sometimes, you just have to go with what the day gives you.  Kids will be kids and I'll have to think about the many other special moments that they give me on a regular basis.  Children are a joy and I am grateful to have this wonderful and awesome responsibility given to me by our Father in Heaven.

Before...

Grassy plants have been extracted (I don't remember what they were called).

Viola!  The finished product.  Yay!  My husband is amazing.

 

Hardy Hibiscus

New blooms everyday.

Isabella was so excited to show me my Mother's Day gift in the morning.

My sweet baby Elizabeth.  She's so smiley and starting to develop quite the personality.

Luke's nightly ritual.  He usually falls asleep at the top of the stairs. 

My dogs are getting so old.  I love them, they're so sweet.

Five years old (D-O-G)

Six years old (Lulu)

Libby at 14 months old (such a happy girl).

Luke, our boy being silly.

Excite Gymnastics has been promoting their gym at Old Settlers Elementary.  Here is Bella showing off some of the stuff she learned while spending a P.E. session with them.  I love her joy.  Kids are so fun in that way (always happy and joyful - well, most of the time).

Elizabeth blows a kiss, waves and shows off her little personality.

I posted a love song for grandmothers that Isabella and Luke sang on facebook for Mother's Day.  Here is one of the versions that perhaps you may not have seen.  Enjoy!

Here's the Grandmother song that was posted on facebook...

Last video, I promise.  The kids playing...

My Messy Boy

Luke sure know how to make a mess and it's driving me insane!  Here's the story: Last Friday, "Fun Friday" as we now call it thanks to the Dane and Christie clan, I had about 2 moms and 9 kids total at the house to play for a couple of hours. I like to do this because it brings the kids so much joy and I get to visit with real adults at the same time!!  Regardless to say the house wasn't looking at its best when Josh came home.  He had had a hard day at work and I could tell he was not too happy with the state the house was in.  He gave me a hint to his displeasure when he stated, "I wasn't expecting to come home to a house where it looks like a bomb just went off."  Yeah, that didn't make me feel very good, but it was true.  The house was in complete disarray.   Later in the evening Josh had to go to an Awards banquet for work.  I wasn't feeling very well, but I was also feeling guilty for not having things put together. So, I decided to clean the bathrooms.  Upon finishing my labors I entered my bedroom to find Luke with .... lotion.  Oh, joy.

I don't know if you can see well enough, but there is lotion all over his body, clothes and of course, the carpet.             (Insert Exasperated sigh)

Another thing about Luke: We are in the beginning stages of potty training (another joy that I don't think I could ever live without). We bought him some big boy Spiderman underwear and after giving him a bath the other day I told him that he could wear them if he didn't have accidents in his diaper anymore.  Of course, I don't know if he fully understood this concept, but I thought it was worth a try.    I towel dried him of and let him try on a pair.  He had a lot of fun looking at himself in the mirror while making web-slinging sounds. After the fun was over I got him dressed normally (with a diaper).  I then proceeded to get the baby dressed.  While I was fixing her hair, Luke came up next to us and snatched the new underwear off the bathroom counter.  After I finished with the baby I went to look for him and found that he had put the underwear over his diaper and shorts.  I'm really hoping that this whole big boy underwear plan works well.  Wish me luck!

The ever-desired Spiderman underwear. You can't tell in this picture, but these underwear really are cool.  If I were a little boy I would want to wear them on the outside of my clothes too.

Here are some other picture's we've taken recently.  The first two were taken by Josh as our friend Michiyo Clark was taking "real" photographs for us.  Michiyo really has an eye for how to take a great picture.  She's so talented.  You'll get to see some of her photos further down the page.

Here's some of Michiyo's work:

 And now, for the video I know you've all been waiting with baited breath to see:

Luke plays with...Lotion!