Christmas Cheer

We put up Christmas lights on our house for the first time in our marriage and it is lovely. It also matches our neighbors lights and so it kind of feels like we have more lights than we do. Bonus. Brent spent all day on the roof attaching them- what a brave guy. Can you imagine breaking his back for something as frivolous as Christmas lights? I was reigning in those sorts of thoughts all day. 

Brent also said after he was done that thinking about getting up on the roof again to take them down made him a bit nauseous. Yikes.

The girls don’t play as often on our cute hand me down piano as maybe they should- mainly because it’s in brents office so they don’t play it during the day or it’s too obnoxious. But now, they’ve kind of forgotten about it in general because it’s out of sight out of mind. Which really is a shame now I’m thinking on it. Anyway- Lucy got a hankering for a little song the other day- and the light was so lovely coming in from the window outlining her hair and highlighting her little 4 year old voice and made up song- it was a sweet mom moment. 

We got a couch upgrade. It’s a Lovesac sectional. While i won’t pretend i love it as a stylistic choice- is a crushed velvet gigantic sofa- it is super comfy and spacious and doubles as a kid playground. As well as how we can configure it into different shapes as it’s a modular sofa. It is really nice.

Christmas is so soon! Christmas lights have been really magical this year for me- there are so many in grantsville!  and seeing Lucy play with the nativity scenes so much. I’m nervous about Christmas Day living up to the hype. But i always seem to be nervous about that. It’s been a good Christmas though all in all. I have a lot to be grateful for.

 

Halloween 2020

 

We went trick or treating in Orem with my parents and it was perfect. I was so pleased because the girls knew what costumes they wanted and didnt change their minds once! i was impressed. We didn't knock on any doors (actually, Lucy knocked on one, but was pretty scared about it) but we just grabbed the candy from people's porches in bowls and it was excellent.

Lucy was a fairy princess for her pre school halloween parade. She was pretty excited! But when she did the parade she just held onto her teachers hand and cried. It was so pitiful! Poor thing. Stage fright I think was the issue. But she did love her school halloween party, thankfully.

Our cat got into some sort of fight or something when he was outside and now he has this a huge crater of a cut. It is nasty. Before it was a cut, it was a bump on his back and he hardly moved for days. Now he is walking and whatnot but his cut is there and I hope it heals quick. 

Charleston, SC and politics

Just me and Brent went on a trip to Charleston for my good friends wedding. Ive never been before, but at the same time, the humidity and green and balmy nights were so familiar from growing up in Charlotte. It was so fun. We flew on delta which had spaces between each passenger which of course was luxurious, we and everyone else wore our masks, but other than that and individualized snack bags instead of the cart it felt just like normal travel. 

Charleston’s old houses were so lovely and colorful and felt French and southern and colonial all at the same time. 

Lucy was helping me pack before hand and we got a bit Carried away trying everything on and she wanted to do a fashion show and on and on as four year olds do. 

The rehearsal dinner was on a pavilion right by this pier on Folly Beach and it was so breezy and nice. It felt like i was in a Nicholas sparks novel. Also, may i say, i am thankful for Brents talent of trip planning and managing travel logistics. Also, how he blends in with my high school friends. We have our disagreements, but he is so talented and good on the inside. Ha. And the outside. 

I was really moved by the Spanish moss and regular moss on the walls and steps and all the trees especially the oaks! and the palmettos and plants that i don’t have in Utah. As an adult I’ve realized how different plants change the whole feel of a place and i look for it on trips. I did in Hawaii (the monkey pod trees and the wild chickens) and in California (the palm trees and the flowers and the fruit trees everywhere!)

I’m so grateful that my mom watched the kids this weekend. And she had to jump through hoops to do it. My dad was possibly exposed to COVID the day before, so my mom had to go stay with my aunt while his test results came back just in case. He came back negative, thankfully. Also, i had the mildest of fevers (99.4) so i got tested as well (wasn’t too bad. A middle of the nose swab instead of the far back one. Got tested outside at a clinic after a telemedicine call confirming that i should get the test as a precaution since i was about to get on a plane.) thankfully i didn’t have it either

After she finished watching my kids all weekend, she slept for thirteen hours that night!! Girlfriend does not lose her energy with the grandkids and it is and amazing and beautiful thing. 

Also, she worked some magic with Ella because she seems so much more excited about doing her 20 min of daily reading for school now after my mom was with her! I’m not sure what happened, but when we read together now she is in more confident! It is a joy to see

I’m filling out my mail in ballot this weekend and boy is there a lot of research to be done to find out which people and propositions deserve my vote! I feel fairly confident in my vote for Biden and Kamala Harris as I’ve researched them more. But for all the other things that haven’t been as obvious to look into- it’s taking some time! Phew. 

 I’m anxious and interested to see how things turn out. Politics are so heated these days

My nephew’s wedding

 

Tonight, we went to the wedding of Brent’s oldest brother’s oldest son- so, my nephew. 

It was so fun and wonderful and such a sweet celebration of love and family. The wedding was outside and the weather was good- my weather app called for rain, but it didn’t! There were outdoor games like corn hole (Brent’s brothers played a rousing game!) and Ella and Lucy had a night in with grandma and grandpa. 

There was dancing outside and it was just so fun.

I also had the chance to babysit a friends 9 month old this week and it reminded me what a joy babies can be! His sweet face and copper hair was the cutest.

Are you wondering if I want to have another baby? Haha.  I don’t know if we will have a third child... sometime I want to and sometimes I don’t. We will see. Brent is leaning towards no. I do feel pretty complete with our two sweet ladies. So i wonder.

1st grade

 

School started this week for Ella and it’s SUCH a blessing that she has liked it and done well with the masks and all that stuff. I’m so comforted that her older cousins go to the same school and they look out for her. Also, she walks a mile home with her older cousins and has done so well with it!! Thankfully we have a lot of sidewalks here. 

We went swimming the other day and it was such a joy. The kids love it so much and that makes me so happy. There are a few things that i can think of that are quintessentially summer and one of them is swimming in the pool and the other is eating snow cones. I love both.

Cheers to our first week of school back and no tears about it yet.

Sisterhood

 I saw those beautiful charcoal prints on Joanna Gaines website, But they are so expensive! I’m going to try and re create them. See how it goes.

The girls have been playing together lately of their own accord and it is so sweet to see. One of them will ask the other to play barbies (a favorite now) and the other will answer pretty enthusiastically and it just makes me feel so good to see their friendship.

Also, their poses!!! Haha peace signs and pouty faces! Toddler teenagers these days

Also, just tonight i tried a new bedtime tactic. While Brent was reading them a story, i brought them their pajamas and handed them each a pre toothpasted toothbrush. I’m happy to report that Lucy brushed her teeth without any complaint while listening to that story!! It was a dream compared to brushing her teeth through terrible screeches and tears like the last few nights.

Everyday things

I bought some much needed velvet (!) curtains for my dining room. The morning sun is so hot we couldn’t sit at our table for breakfast (or early morning LEGO’s after cartoons) and it made the kitchen very hot as well.

Brent so sweetly hung them for me and they have made a world of difference.

Currently our yard is full of weeds and nothing else. For my birthday coming up, i hired a yard designer to plan the front and backyard for me! I am lucky! I haven’t seen his designs yet... but i am excited to have more in our yard than dust and brambles. 

We took a little trip to a water conservation garden in West Jordan to see some plants that don’t need much water. It was quite fun to see all the plants even if the girls complained a lot about being hot.

We have been eating snow cones a good bit/ the girls are actually a bit tired of them- but i love them. My favorite has been a caramel flavored snowcone and good old cotton candy.

All of our weeds! And our beautiful house. We are lucky. We have been sitting outside in the evenings while the girls scooter around or spray each other with the sprinkler and it is so beautiful to see the sun in its golden hour. It brings me a lot of happiness. 

Ps Lucy has boycotted her car seat. Like a freaked tantrum when i try to do her seatbelt. Also, brushing her teeth has become SUCH A BATTLE. It is so frustrating as a parent to me when my kids put up such a stink to me helping them be healthy and safe. 

It seems like some sort of religious metaphor- God trying to help us be safe and us refusing...

Hiking and anxiety

We hiked Deseret peak as a family and it was SO BEAUTIFUL the trees reminded me of growing up in North Carolina which made it even more enjoyable- along with all the shade. There were a lot of flies though...  we liked it so much, we came the next day and Brent and Ella and cousin Kaden made it all the way to the top. 

 Me and Lucy did not make it. But she did fall asleep while i was carrying her piggy back ride down the mountain and was VERY EXCITED to watch toy story four on my phone in the car while we waited for Brent and the kids to return. I feel some guilt about Lucy watching a movie instead of exploring, but we did just spend 3 ish hours on the mountain and she was pretty well spent. So I’ll just appreciate her excitement and not think about it!

 A bit unrelated, but i am feeling a lot of anxiety about school in the fall. Ugh. As I’m sure so many parents are. The Utah governor just required all school kids must wear masks- which i totally understand but feel anxious about how that can hinder The teaching and be such a nuisance In general. Ella is SO looking forward to first grade and i don’t want her to miss out if i decide to home school (which i could seriously never do in reality- cue more anxiety. I’m sure there is some distance learning that will happen- which i am bummed about but grateful for.

You know, in writing all this i realize i actually have a lot. We have our health and the opportunity to learn in some way. also, a reminder to me that kids are stronger and more resilient than i give them credit for.

Speaking of- i am writing this in the middle of the night after being woken up to the very weird experience of Ella waking up and squatting to pee in the air vent in her room.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Don’t mention it to Ella or she will be embarrassed. :) and I’m assuming she won’t remember in the morning. But it WAS BIZARRE. She never has bed wetting troubles or anything of the sort so it was very left field.

Xo

My Baby is 6

Sweet Ella turned six back in May and it was a great birthday- I was so pleased. She had a lot of big plans and wanted to plan and decorate everything practically herself - the little planner she is! and I was pretty nervous the reality wouldn't match her expectations, especially during the quarantine situation. But it was a wonderful birthday!

She got a hoverboard! and had purple and black cat decorations. She's pretty obsessed with cats.

Decorated her own birthday cat themed birthday cake (which may I say, we home made from the Cake by Courtney blog and it was fantastic).

 We went to Grandma Billie's house for the rest of the birthday and it was a kitty themed extravaganza as only a grandma is willing to do and it was so fun.

She loves her mom-daughter time, she loves organizing and decorating, she's a picky eater and picky about her clothes= she knows what she likes and leans toward cool rather than cute stuff. She loves journals and pens and notebooks. She's great at crafting and designs and likes doing things herself. She tells jokes! and wants to pull pranks.

Happy Birthday Brent

I am looking through a lot of old photos right now as my icloud storage is full, my google drive storage- full. I have an external hard drive and I need to figure out if I should put everything on there- but what if the hard drive breaks or fails?! I've heard of that happening and it sounds devastating. Cloud storage has gotta be the way to go. So now I'm working out Amazon drive- the storage that comes with Amazon Prime. So.. it gives me a tiny headache. 

Last week was Brent's 32nd birthday! That handsome devil. He's such a good guy to me and I'm grateful.

We went to the Salt Flats, an hour and a half ish away and it was pretty cool. But maybe a bit underwhelming I hate to say. It was salt almost as far as the eye could see up to the mountains. There were a few other people there, but not very many.

 

Quarantine-ing is tricky. I love not having certain times to be any place. and I do think Ella and Lucy are becoming better friends!! But, my body image is kinda suffering. And I go up and down in my emotions. Ella's birthday is coming up on May 19th and she is feeling worried that her birthday won't be fun. Frankly, I'm nervous it won't be either. I feel like she has high expectations and can be picky and sometimes nothing can deliver for her. I'll do my best. 

fyi I just finished reading the book, "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" about a therapist and her patients and it was really interesting.

Some Joy

I love watercolor paintings. I love the way the colors bleed into each other and the water makes all the colors bloom into different shades. I've seen some people (Joanna Gaines for instance!) do some paintings and I'm jealous. It's been a tiny dream in my mind for a few years to take watercolor classes. 

THEN I saw on Instagram that the artist Sarah Nightingale was doing a free watercolor painting class video. She showed me what paint to buy which wasn't too expensive!

Anyway, it's not too hard to make watercolor look decently good. and its bringing me a lot of joy to paint. Especially today while Brent played Sweet Caroline on the guitar and I painted while the girls were getting dressed in their room for their little fashion show! I was feeling a lot of joy and that was so nice to feel right now.

Also, yesterday we went to visit our horse neighbors and fed them apples and grass and it was like balm to the soul with how nice the weather was and happy we were and how beautiful the horses are!

 We dont know the horses real names (the owners are not actually our neighbors even though the horses are. I think they just lease the land to board them? I don't know exactly.

But the girls named them Cookie and Brownie. They are just beautiful and shaggy with winter coats it looks like.

Staying at Home

 

We've stayed at home since last Thursday afternoon. With an exception of picking up takeout on Saturday.

And also of going to Wal-mart to pick up milk. The store didn't have any free pick up times this week and they don't deliver to my house. I won't go out again though. I was pretty anxious. But then, I saw people shopping, not wiping down their carts like it was another normal day. Which made me feel insecure for a minute about being intense.

Anyway, I'll do the best I can.

The girls are doing better than I thought staying at our house, the sweeties. We do arts and crafts and all sorts of things moms at home have to think of to do. Ha, that's not too new. Of course moms on Instagram have helped (playing with duplo blocks in the bath, eating popsicles in the bath, baking soda and vinegar explosion fun).

Though they do fight too- which is hard for me to sort through- but of course that will happen.

When we say a prayer over our dinner, Lucy is usually enthusiastic about being the one to say it. I'll give you some examples of what she says:

-Thank you for Christmas
-Thank you for Mom and Dad, and for my sister, and for me
-Thank you for Michelle Obama

3 year old's little minds are darling. I've been reading Michelle Obama's autobiography, "Becoming" and it has a really beautiful and big photo of Michelle on the front. Lucy seemed a bit taken with it. So I guess it made an impression!

Also, it is so tender to hear her be thankful for her family (and I don't even prompt it! wild) and I love she includes herself.

Fingers crossed we can get through this thing and be better for it. Love to all.

Ella took this photograph and what a candid realistic moment it is!

 We took in a stray cat about 2-3 months ago and the girls still adore him. Brent doesn't. I'm in the middle.

This partially disgusting "play dough" rainbow ice cream is a favorite of some... Ella got herself some a while back. AND SHE GOT A TON, BUT SHE PUT IN TWO SPOONS SO WE COULD SHARE TOGETHER. I mean.

It's wild how I don't really love being a mother all the time, but here we are when I write about it, I feel very postitive about it.