aaaand we're back

Mom went home yesterday.  I'm not being melodramatic when I say that his is the worst thing in the history of stuff.  Well, maybe not that bad, but I miss her so much it hurts.  We totally rocked these last two weeks though.

We had Dad for a week too and that was super awesome.

There are so many awesome things about this picture I can't even start.

But then he went home.  Which totally stinks.  But then Mom and I had a lovely week where we mostly just cleaned and taught the kids violin and piano.  And mom snuggled the heck out of Thing 3.

And also regaled us with unbelievable stories from their adventures in China.  With accompanying swag, of course.

Now all I'm left with are wonderful memories, cool presents from China and a much cleaner house.  Lame.

We moved the love seat for a wee recital we had with some friends and HOLY SNAP I LOVE MY HOUSE NOW.  I had no idea I was feeling boxed in and claustrophobic, but now I'm dancing all over this place.  SO MUCH SPAAAAAAACCCEEEE!!!

And I'm stuck snuggling this angel.  My arm here is the best pillow in town.

I know I've got another whole month of summer yet, but the temperature just dove from the 90s into the 60s for some strange reason (the kids are still outside playing in the sprinkler though.. weirdos) and there's this awful voice in the back of my head telling me this magic, wonderful summer will end far sooner than I want and I'll have to let school rip them from me.  Nope, not melodramatic here at all.

But no regrets - I'm enjoying every second of all of this.  And trying to help the husband enjoy a tad, but he's had it rough.  He is in the midst of putting together a funeral for a father of a young family - no light fluff here.  This bishop thing is not for amateurs, and yet...  I heard that amazing Jeffery R. Holland quote this morning and it made me laugh even harder than the first time:

So be kind regarding human frailty—your own as well as that of those who serve with you in a Church led by volunteer, mortal men and women. Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we.

Side note - while looking around for that quote I stumbled on this and giggled some more:

In an attempt to help things along yesterday, I thought I'd make brownies for some of the people he had to go visit.  It wasn't pretty.  Aside from bread and melted cheese, I should not be allowed anywhere near the kitchen.  He's just going to have to deal with moral support from this corner.  Unless any of you want to mail me treats that I can pass off as my own... just email me for my address and also include extra chocolate for good measure.  Or just blog so I can have something interesting to look at on the internets.

Love you, internets!!

another happy post. that's kind of weird I guess.

The kids earned up enough warm fuzzies (our family currency) by doing chores and music lessons and what-not, so they were able to pick their own reward.  Popcorn and cotton candy for lunch at the circus??  Heck yes.

It as been crazy town over here.  There is a sad situation with a family in the ward involving a terminally ill parent that is just hard all around.  The husband has been back and forth, trying to manage things on the bishop side of things while a few mothers in the ward have been babysitting and it has been... stressful. Tonight he and I had a date planned but cancelled it because he hasn't had a chance to spend a lot of time with the kids lately, but the situation has taken a turn for the worst and he down in Madison at the hospital while I am home alone with the sleeping kids.

And all I can think is how thankful I am.  How blessed we have been these last few months.  Thing 3 is 4 months old now and at that point with WonderGirl and The Dude, I was still fighting depression and anxiety and homesickness and everything else that comes with moving in your last trimester.  This time around I can literally feel angels surrounding me, lifting me up.  The stress of having a husband become a bishop less than a week after giving birth was not what I'd planned on (and believe you me, there are days I feel spread thin) but instead of the typical mania surrounding baby-ing, I feel BLESSED.  The Dude is turning 4 next month and he still wakes up almost every night screaming, but Thing 3 has been sleeping through the night off and on since the beginning.  He is so perfectly sweet and happy and even when there is the insanity of being very out-numbered, I fall more in love with them every second.  The blessings just don't quit. 

Okay, maybe I'm gushing.  But I have been through very dark valleys when it came to having babies, and I am walking around on level ground amazed at all the sunlight around me.  Is this what it is like for normal people to have babies??  I can see why some people have 11.

Have I mentioned 8 or 9 times how much I am loving this summer??  We wake up, have breakfast, do chores and music then play every day.  The kids play in the sprinkler in the afternoon and in between the occasional tantrum, are thick as thieves.  I only wish the husband could enjoy a little of it.  Between work and bishop-ing he hasn't had as much of a chance to play with the kids as he wishes.  It hurts my heart a little.  Because of the emergency this evening, he missed this:

Although last night when we were trying to unwind after a crazy evening, the Dude came up to the husband and asked him for a snuggle - and he was on the couch in a flash, hugging the heck out of him.  Who could resist that child?  His eyes are the size of hubcaps.

And if all this happy wasn't enough, TOMORROW MY MOM IS COMING TO VISIT!!!!  After an entire year of China, she is back and ours for 2 whole weeks!!!!!

I promise, if all this gushiness is annoying, at least you can take solace in the fact that I take not a single iota for granted.  I'm so grateful for this season of blessings.

in which i talk about vomiting in a good way

Thing 3 is a seriously happy thing.  He craves faces and when he can get a smile, he belly laughs and spazes out.  His legs kick like CRAZY.  When he is super happy, he spits up.  While smiling.  Or he jams his hand in his mouth and gnaws on it like it's the last cookie on earth.  He gets so happy he THROWS UP.  Or tries to EAT HIMSELF.  This kid is so hard core.

When I started dating the husband and we both had those first terrifying butterflies, we were a mess.  The husband actually did throw up, and I just walked around like a jittery idiot.  You really can be so happy you get sick.

Some mornings (like today) I feel crazy and so excited for the kids to wake up I can't stand it.  Indeed, I love them so much I want to puke.  That is LOVE.  Some day when my children tell me they think they've found The One, I will ask them - do they make you want to throw up?

Don't marry someone who doesn't make you nauseous.

announcement

I just put on some pre-baby jeans and there was ... drumroll please....

No muffin top!!!

I had two cups of ice cream for dinner last night. Healthy eating is laaaaame. I am the champion, my frieeeennndsss and I will keep eating and not exercising till the eeeeeennndd!!

PS I mean no disrespect to those of you who do eat right and exercise. I'm too lazy to do so and you are in fact, better humans than me. I'm not going to cry about that though because I had no muffin top today!!! Woohoo!!

i am not angry

Goodness, I am LOVING this summer.  Sure, I get puked on regularly and tantrums abound, but the sun, the open mornings, the SUN.  Awesomesauce.

I'm just twitterpated with these humans.  If I was going to have to try this parenting thing, I'm SO glad the Big Guy Upstairs ordered me up the coolest kids ever.

And dude, I went and did something interesting!  One of my favorite bands is the Polyphonic Spree and it just so happens that I have TWO college buddies playing in it right now.  So when they did a show 3 hours away, I HAD to go.

It was AMAZING.  Seriously, such an incredible show.  And it was even cooler being 10 feet from one of my best friends playing his brains out on the fiddle.  I was very tempted to shove him off the stage and take his place, but I resisted.  Go me!

Of course, since it was in Chicago and the USA has no mandated paternity leave, the husband's vacation days are very slim, so we drove home after the show and since his job is on the way and a whole hour still from home, he just slept the last few hours in his car at work.  We have BARELY recovered.  We are just too old for this stuff.  TOTALLY WORTH IT.  Ugh, such a fantastic show!!!  My soul seriously was nourished.  The arrangements - the musicality - the love!  So fabulous!

I kind of want to go all Dead Head and follow them all over this tour.  

And then yesterday was the 4th of July so I did up WonderGirl's nails all patriotic and then went ahead on mine.  

I read some tutorials on getting good fireworks shots and had a fun time trying them out.  the best advice I got was to have the camera on a super long exposure and in between every burst,  hold a black piece of paper over the lens so the sky stays dark and you have a whole bunch of explosions in one take even though they happened over a 30 second period.

Seriously, if I could live in summer forever with these kids just as they are, I would be a happy camper.