It's been an interesting Christmas season in a lot of ways. My family (parents and siblings) are still going through a few things from Christmas, but beyond that particular event of which I will not give details here and now, I've had a lot to think about. It's been a tough financial season for my little family (husband and children). Our work situation isn't what we thought it would be and I now have 2 jobs (one is very, very part-time), and Cory has a job and is seeking a second. We've always worked through school with our kids, so we're no strangers to work. It's fine. We'll be fine. We have faith that the Lord will provide for our needs as long as we remain faithful and keep His commandments (including tithing). And we have been greatly blessed.
You know that scripture in Malachi that talks about paying your tithes and offerings and the windows of heaven will pour down more blessings than you have room to receive? Well, we have seen that. When we couldn't afford it, we were given more food than our kitchen could hold. We have had 4 gallons of milk in our freezer because we didn't have room in the refrigerator. My brother-in-law took Cory salmon fishing and stocked us up on some really delicious salmon. Our neighbors have shared what they have when they could. Aside from food, we have had friends, family, and neighbors give our kids more clothes than we have room for in drawers and closets -- including a few toys too. My children and I have really appreciated it. We drove down to Oregon to visit family for Christmas, and to be able to pay for gas, we weren't able to buy gifts for our kids. We knew that grandmas and grandpas would get the kids some things for Christmas, so we weren't worried about them getting nothing. But it broke my heart that WE couldn't get them anything. They still had plenty to open, thanks to their Aunt Kristy sharing some things she was going to give her kids, and grandma and grandpa's generosity. We're going to get the kids a couple small things at the after-Christmas sales. Olivia will probably just get a couple things to help potty training in a month or so, and we'll get Emerson....something.
Aside from giving in our own family, I was a little saddened by a few things I saw on Facebook both before and after Christmas. There was a lot of "my child wants such-and-such for Christmas -- how do I find this obscure/expensive/popular thing?" Now, I totally understand the desire to give your kids everything they want for Christmas. I understand wanting to see your kids' faces completely light up on Christmas morning. I understand not wanting to disappoint your kids. But there comes a point when enough has to be enough. When you have to say, "It's okay, you really didn't NEED that thing, and look at all the other stuff you got!" I mean, I have heard stories about kids being so disappointed in what they did or didn't get, that Mom and Dad felt the need to go get their kids MORE gifts just to appease the sad children -- or teens. It breaks my heart that we completely lose the meaning of Christmas and WHY we give gifts. It breaks my heart that we can't teach our children to be content with the things they have. Cory and I have decided (a while ago actually) that we aren't doing any Santa gifts beyond what can fit INTO a stocking. All other gifts will be from family and friends. I know that's easy to have ideals while our kids are young, and another to implement them.
One of my greatest desires is to raise my kids to be happy with what they have so that they truly appreciate when others do something kind for them. I know too many people who just expect things to be given to them, and generally, they're not happy people. There's a great deal of joy in being content; in not expecting. It took me a long time to learn to be content. I'm still working on it. And I hope that if I can get there, it will be easier to teach my children and develop that in them.... I hope.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
Baby Hungry
I'm baby hungry. Like I don't have a baby...right? I have a lot of friends having or announcing babies right now. Several with twins even! I think it's more like I'm pregnancy hungry. No worries, it's not happening. (I can hear several of you already smirking and saying to yourselves, "riiiiight"... or ,"you never know...".) No really. It's not happening. We aren't having another baby until Emerson is AT LEAST 18 months old. My body needs time to heal. I need time to get into a shape smaller and better than the shape my body is currently in. I need to be healthier. I also really need to know what the next two years will bring... you know... grad school and all. If I get into my program, we'll have to plan it just so. If I don't, well, we have more wiggle room. An April baby sounds nice...
On the weight loss front, I'm down 24 lbs since coming home with Emerson. Yay! I still have about 35 to go to get back to my ideal. It's do-able. I've already passed my first goal, so double yay. 8 more until the next. It's been a rough couple weeks with sick kids, Halloween, and of course the day I decide to go back to the gym, a power transformer goes down and blacks out the majority of northern Seattle. No gym. But I finally got back today and it felt great! I ran 2.5 miles and lifted weights (an old new favorite -- your burn 15% more calories lifting weights). Thank goodness for the YMCA catering to poor people and their income-based fees. I told Cory today that I need to start going to the gym every day. Luckily they have childcare there free for members. Olivia loves having "play dates" with all their toys and the other kids, plus, I'm right there, so I don't feel terrible about leaving my kids with strangers. They have giant windows so parents can see everything that's going on. And yes, I'm that parent that checks up on my kids every 10 minutes or so. Since the kids have been sick, we haven't taken them and have had to alternate trips to the gym. It has made it a little tougher to coordinate. It might be tricky for me to go everyday too, but I really, really need it. I need to get this weight off, and fast (without going to extremes here, people). I just want to be healthier. We started by not eating out anymore. We do only when absolutely necessary (like when the power went out and we couldn't grocery shop after we ate all our food... or on the road). We cook healthy food and eat proper portions. And now, we exercise. It's going to be a good, healthy winter.
On the weight loss front, I'm down 24 lbs since coming home with Emerson. Yay! I still have about 35 to go to get back to my ideal. It's do-able. I've already passed my first goal, so double yay. 8 more until the next. It's been a rough couple weeks with sick kids, Halloween, and of course the day I decide to go back to the gym, a power transformer goes down and blacks out the majority of northern Seattle. No gym. But I finally got back today and it felt great! I ran 2.5 miles and lifted weights (an old new favorite -- your burn 15% more calories lifting weights). Thank goodness for the YMCA catering to poor people and their income-based fees. I told Cory today that I need to start going to the gym every day. Luckily they have childcare there free for members. Olivia loves having "play dates" with all their toys and the other kids, plus, I'm right there, so I don't feel terrible about leaving my kids with strangers. They have giant windows so parents can see everything that's going on. And yes, I'm that parent that checks up on my kids every 10 minutes or so. Since the kids have been sick, we haven't taken them and have had to alternate trips to the gym. It has made it a little tougher to coordinate. It might be tricky for me to go everyday too, but I really, really need it. I need to get this weight off, and fast (without going to extremes here, people). I just want to be healthier. We started by not eating out anymore. We do only when absolutely necessary (like when the power went out and we couldn't grocery shop after we ate all our food... or on the road). We cook healthy food and eat proper portions. And now, we exercise. It's going to be a good, healthy winter.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Bubba is 4 months!
It has been a LoOOooooooOOOOoooooOOOOoooonng time since I've blogged. But it's Sunday, and Emerson is 4 months today, so I figured, why not!? That, and I'm so far away from my sisters and need to stay in touch with them... so I'm doing my part to keep them updated with us since we are terrible at calling.
We are all settled in our new apartment in Shoreline. The area is great. We're not too far from anything and it only takes Cory about 30-40 minutes to get to campus on the bus. His school schedule is great so far since he's not working yet. (He's supposed to have a meeting for his research lab at the end of the week... so hopefully after that he'll actually be working 10-20 hours a week. Hooray for an income!) The kids and I get to see him a lot! And I love that. We're also only 3 hours from the in-laws, which is awesome for all of us. We actually went up this weekend for Krystal's birthday (which is actually tomorrow) and to open Phillip's mission call (to Santiago, Chile!!!). Since Cory isn't quite working yet, and we really have no idea what his hours will be, I decided to find a job as well. I ended up getting hired at Macy's seasonally and started training last week. I'll finish up my training tomorrow, but won't have any real hours until November. Honestly, that's fine with me. And I should be able to get hours that coincide with Cory's school/work schedule so we don't have to leave kids with a babysitter ever. That sure would be great.
Now that we've been here a month (exactly!), and been to our ward a couple times, they finally know we exist and have been asked to speak in church. I get to speak next Sunday, and Cory will speak the following Sunday. Apparently they like to be kind to the parents of young children folk. Thank goodness for that! I like speaking in Sunday when you're brand new to a ward because it gives the ward an opportunity to get to know you without having to say your name about 50 bajillion times. You're more approachable to the more apprehensive. The ward seems SO nice already. I think we'll really love it here, which is great since we really want to try to buy a house/townhome (something!) next year and it's good to know of at least one GOOD area to look. (Renting is ridiculously expensive, and we can cut our housing expenses in HALF or LESS if we can find a house in our price range...which just makes good sense since we'll be here at least 4 years.)
On to the kiddos:
Olivia is almost 16 months now! She's chomping at the bit to go to nursery. Cory will go in there with her some Sundays because she just loves it and it's getting to hard to contain her during Elder's Quorum . In this ward, they meet in the cultural hall on the stage, so running around really isn't an option.
She is jabbering all over the place! And she's just the funniest kid. She loves to be scared. One of our favorite games is to have Olivia chase me, and I'll run around a corner and pop out yelling "boo!" as she approaches. She will say "boo! Boo! Boo!" until we play. She also LOVES "Popcorn Popping," "Do As I'm Doing," "Wheels on the Bus," and tons more. She absolutely LOVES puppies too. In the Deaf ward after our ward meets, we have to remind her not to bother the service puppies while they're working. (There are 2... so it's really hard for her.) Olivia is now down to 1 nap a day, unless she's not feeling well. I'm not so sure I'm ready for only one, but she doesn't seem to need 2, so we go with it. We also joined the local YMCA and Olivia loves to play with the other kids. She has absolutely no social fears (so far) and the second we walk in the door, she's gone. She doesn't like leaving either. She makes friends everywhere she goes. We just love our sweet and sassy little girl!
Emerson is 4 months today. He's a little string bean! We still need to get to his 4-month check-up, but we're trying to work out this insurance mess and don't have a pediatrician yet... so no stats. But the kid has abs! There is no chub on him at all! But he has the sweetest little face, is ready to smile any time, but also gets the saddest little face when he's upset. It's hard to sympathize because it's just too cute. In the past month my boy has learned to roll over both front to back and back to front. He twists every which way, so one minute he'll be on his floor gym grabbing his toys, and the next, he's 2 feet away in a completely different position and orientation. His sister did that too, so we're not surprised. We put him in his own room for the first time about a week ago, and he seems to sleep a little better. Before we moved he was sleeping through the night... a full 8 hours! Since being in Washington, we haven't had such luck. He still wakes up at least once and it's usually more like 2-3 times. It's tough, and mommy is tired. You'd think with how much he eats, he'd sleep all day! At least in the past week or 2 he's been taking really good naps. Hooray! He used to sleep for 15-20 minutes and be good for another 4-5 hours. Now we get at least an hour! I attribute that to his pooping at least every other day now. Hooray!
That's our little family so far. We are looking forward Thanksgiving at Ma and Pa Scott and Christmas at my sister Kristy's in Oregon!
We are all settled in our new apartment in Shoreline. The area is great. We're not too far from anything and it only takes Cory about 30-40 minutes to get to campus on the bus. His school schedule is great so far since he's not working yet. (He's supposed to have a meeting for his research lab at the end of the week... so hopefully after that he'll actually be working 10-20 hours a week. Hooray for an income!) The kids and I get to see him a lot! And I love that. We're also only 3 hours from the in-laws, which is awesome for all of us. We actually went up this weekend for Krystal's birthday (which is actually tomorrow) and to open Phillip's mission call (to Santiago, Chile!!!). Since Cory isn't quite working yet, and we really have no idea what his hours will be, I decided to find a job as well. I ended up getting hired at Macy's seasonally and started training last week. I'll finish up my training tomorrow, but won't have any real hours until November. Honestly, that's fine with me. And I should be able to get hours that coincide with Cory's school/work schedule so we don't have to leave kids with a babysitter ever. That sure would be great.
Now that we've been here a month (exactly!), and been to our ward a couple times, they finally know we exist and have been asked to speak in church. I get to speak next Sunday, and Cory will speak the following Sunday. Apparently they like to be kind to the parents of young children folk. Thank goodness for that! I like speaking in Sunday when you're brand new to a ward because it gives the ward an opportunity to get to know you without having to say your name about 50 bajillion times. You're more approachable to the more apprehensive. The ward seems SO nice already. I think we'll really love it here, which is great since we really want to try to buy a house/townhome (something!) next year and it's good to know of at least one GOOD area to look. (Renting is ridiculously expensive, and we can cut our housing expenses in HALF or LESS if we can find a house in our price range...which just makes good sense since we'll be here at least 4 years.)
On to the kiddos:
Olivia is almost 16 months now! She's chomping at the bit to go to nursery. Cory will go in there with her some Sundays because she just loves it and it's getting to hard to contain her during Elder's Quorum . In this ward, they meet in the cultural hall on the stage, so running around really isn't an option.
She is jabbering all over the place! And she's just the funniest kid. She loves to be scared. One of our favorite games is to have Olivia chase me, and I'll run around a corner and pop out yelling "boo!" as she approaches. She will say "boo! Boo! Boo!" until we play. She also LOVES "Popcorn Popping," "Do As I'm Doing," "Wheels on the Bus," and tons more. She absolutely LOVES puppies too. In the Deaf ward after our ward meets, we have to remind her not to bother the service puppies while they're working. (There are 2... so it's really hard for her.) Olivia is now down to 1 nap a day, unless she's not feeling well. I'm not so sure I'm ready for only one, but she doesn't seem to need 2, so we go with it. We also joined the local YMCA and Olivia loves to play with the other kids. She has absolutely no social fears (so far) and the second we walk in the door, she's gone. She doesn't like leaving either. She makes friends everywhere she goes. We just love our sweet and sassy little girl!
Emerson is 4 months today. He's a little string bean! We still need to get to his 4-month check-up, but we're trying to work out this insurance mess and don't have a pediatrician yet... so no stats. But the kid has abs! There is no chub on him at all! But he has the sweetest little face, is ready to smile any time, but also gets the saddest little face when he's upset. It's hard to sympathize because it's just too cute. In the past month my boy has learned to roll over both front to back and back to front. He twists every which way, so one minute he'll be on his floor gym grabbing his toys, and the next, he's 2 feet away in a completely different position and orientation. His sister did that too, so we're not surprised. We put him in his own room for the first time about a week ago, and he seems to sleep a little better. Before we moved he was sleeping through the night... a full 8 hours! Since being in Washington, we haven't had such luck. He still wakes up at least once and it's usually more like 2-3 times. It's tough, and mommy is tired. You'd think with how much he eats, he'd sleep all day! At least in the past week or 2 he's been taking really good naps. Hooray! He used to sleep for 15-20 minutes and be good for another 4-5 hours. Now we get at least an hour! I attribute that to his pooping at least every other day now. Hooray!
That's our little family so far. We are looking forward Thanksgiving at Ma and Pa Scott and Christmas at my sister Kristy's in Oregon!
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