Thursday, July 31, 2008

Ambition and patience

I've always considered one of my greater weaknesses to be lack of ambition. I have no desire to seek ambitious aspirations for the most part. I can if I have to or the opportunity falls upon me, but I don't actively go out looking for ways to be ambitious. Sad, I know.
But lately, my unambitious drives have not been my bother. I have found myself being TERRIBLY impatient. PATIENCE...another big weakness of mine. I had heard at some point in my life that one's threshold for patience somehow becomes higher when you have children. HA! I laugh at this seeming fallacy. Yes, I love my children. Yes, I realize they are little children, not small adults and yes, they are learning...etc. etc. etc.
However, this does not displace the fact that I am an adult with a great many weaknesses, and despite my logical deductions for why kids are kids, I still grow so wary sometimes of explaining for the umpteenth time what 'that man is doing' or why 'anilla icehweem' is not the best choice for a filling and nutritious breakfast. It's definitely going to be a lifelong (and beyond) virtue that will try me in ways I dare not imagine.
For now, I try not to be too ambitious (ha!) and expect myself to become this patient person overnight, but I am pleased in the fact that I can at least give myself a break sometimes and say, 'hey! you're only human...just keep on trying.'
(and yes, one more story really does mean 'just one more story', and no, coloring all over your hands is not the best way to ensure mom stays happy.)
I'm hanging in there and relishing the quiet times at night when I just get to be my unambitious, impatient self and be okay with it.
(and if that damn fly lands on me ONE more time....)

Monday, July 21, 2008

yum, yum eat it up!

Dirt, chocolate....looks and taste the same, I guess (at least that's what Zoe seems to think). So much for hoping and assuming she'd grow out of the 'put everything in her mouth' stage.
YUMMY!

The girls sure do love playing with Daddy...Thanks to Andrew for watching the girls today so I could go out and take advantage of some more deals, this time with the always great company of my sister-in-law. Although one of our anticipated, big deals turned out being a semi-flop we still had fun chatting and hitting up the great grocery-shopping at the commissary. Thanks for making the trip down, Camille!

And finally, after a long day of play there's nothing better than clean, bathed children who are so tired that they go to bed willingly and quickly...Ahhhhhhh

...and what is bedtime without Zoe's two faves (besides mom and dad)....her 'bebe' (blanket) and her thumb.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The only constant is change...

It's been said that the only thing constant is change, and ain't it the truth?
We had a whirlwind weekend, full of unexpected, yet wonderful times. Originally we had plans to join Andrew's large family (some who were visiting from out of state/country) down at his sister's house in Alpine Saturday evening. However, due to the gang shooting weekend before last, Andrew's supervisors were requiring a mandatory work day Saturday in expectations of possible retaliations from rival gangs. (change of plans #1) We were all so bummed....Lily so wanted to go 'swimmin' with Hunter and Noah' (her cousins). She gently and wisely told me, 'don't be sad....it's otay.'
So I prepared for a rather plain and boring weekend. However, (change #2) Andrew woke up feeling rather sick Saturday morning and legitimately couldn't have gone to work and been very effective. Thus, after clearing it with his sargeant, we were able to go to Alpine as originally planned. (Blessings come in unexpected ways although I bet Andrew begs to differ).
We had such a fun time in the Arnold's revamped backyard, complete with gorgeous pool, trampoline, patio and fire pit. We had so much fun talking with everyone and are sad it's an occasion that comes few and far between. We left around 9:30 because Andrew was scheduled to work on OT shift at midnight until 5 a.m. However, (plan change #3) Andrew was able to find someone else to take his shift so he could rest and hopefully get to feeling better. This change in plans allowed us to make it up to Logan at 9:30 am Sunday morning for our little niece Leah's baby blessing, and we were so glad we could go.
Monday (still part of our weekend due to Andrew's normal days off), came with more busyness. Andrew had an OT shift and we had dentist appointments. I worked so hard all week to try and prepare Lily for the inevitable. We read The Tooth Book and I explained that he would just count her teeth and make sure they were nice and clean...no needles, no scary prodding, etc. Then she'd get a cool prize and a new toothbrush/toothpaste! Sounds like a fun time, right?
But no, she wasn't having any of that.
My morning consisted of getting 21 more packs of Walgreens diapers for $0.08 each (using my raincheck from the sale price two weeks ago) and then taking the girls on a little 'picnic' at a nearby park so as to be out of the house for two walk-through-the-house appointments. The whole morning was full of positive affirmations....the dentist is nice, he's our teeth's best friend, Mommy and Daddy are going to see him too, etc. During all our little errands she just kept on saying, 'NO DENTIST!'.
So when the time came to leave for the dentist she fussed and whined. We had a 45 minute drive, and she luckily fell asleep. As we pulled in to the parking lot, she immediately wakes up and says, "No Dentist! No Dentist!" So we carry her in there in the throes of a tantrum. Needless to say, she screamed the entire time he looked at her teeth. He, trying to make us feel better, said, 'it's actually easier to check the teeth of a screaming child because their mouth is open so wide.' True, but that doesn't make it easier for all the other patrons thinking, 'i would come to the DDS at this time, and look how pleasant it is'. Oh well. She got princess tattoos and a cool crayon toothbrush. So that hurdle is done for six months. whew!
In the meantime, Zoe had been acting like she wasn't feeling well all day. She was not very interested in eating, felt a little warm and was very fussy for her. So when we got home and she was acting rather lethargic, we decided that we should take her into the doctor on suspicions of an ear infection. She's never had one but it seemed like the reasonable explanation. My only other suspicion was a really bad teething experience. Her fourth molar has finally poked through but seems to be really swollen still.
So I take her to the doctor only to have her vomit all over herself, her carseat, and the seat as I pull into the parking lot. Okay, so maybe it's not an ear infection...
Anyhow, she's running a 103 degree fever but her ears look fine, a strep test in negative and blood test comes back normal. My wonderful neighbor was able to run me some new clothes for her as I'd forgotten the diaper bag, and I left with the advice to come back in two days if her fever doesn't let up. So now it's just a waiting game. She is acting more alert as of this morning and was at least eating and drinking some. But now I'm feeling rather under the weather myself, and can't seem to muster a lot of energy to do many of things that need doing today. At least I cleaned off the vomit and did all the washing last night because I don't know if I could have done it today. Blessings in disguise. SIGH.
The only thing constant is change....a quote worth remembering for the ironies of life.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

The 4th of July is the ultimate summer holiday, and we weren't disappointed this year. Here's some highlights of our little Independence Day outing on the 3rd of July. We went to Eaglewood Golf Course in North Salt Lake and enjoyed a delicious picnic courtesy of my Mom as well as fireworks after dark. The girls loved playing in the sand from the nearby bunker and just being able to run around and enjoy the holiday. My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of Liberty...of thee I sing!
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Wednesday, July 2, 2008

summer time and the livin's easy

With the hot, hot days we've been having the girls have been glad when we've done things to cool them off. sprinklers and popsicles are always a hit...while Lily is not actually into getting in the sprinkler (and getting cold spray in her face), Zoe absolutely embraced the sprinkler concept and would stand with her face right in the stream, water dripping down her eyes and just laugh. Other days we stay inside with the a/c or go to a store and play with the toys while enjoying their a/c.


The relaxing does seem to be few and far between sometimes, despite what the blog title suggests. I've been scrambling to get more little things done around the house. My mom came and helped me paint the one wall in our bedroom which really needed a fresh coat. Thanks so much for your help and push to make sure it got done, Mom! On top of that I've been working a lot harder at keeping the house clean. Now that the nitty-gritty cleaning is done, it's a matter of keeping things in their place so the house can be shown in an hour or two notice. We've had six walk-throughs already and are encouraged by the traffic.

Besides cleaning, I did get to spend last weekend with several of my good friends from high school. We had some 'just women' activities and others for families. My girls had a blast swimming and I had a blast chatting, eating and being spiritually uplifted. :o) Too bad we can't do it more often because we really do have such a fun time.

And lastly, it's been so fun to be in my element lately as there's been a handful of great sales/deals at various stores. I love stockpiling and feeling like I scored big (which I have). The best by far has been getting 18 jumbo packs of Walgreens diapers for $0.24/pack. I plan on going back to get more when they re-stock their shelves Thursday/Friday before the sale ends on Saturday. Can't beat getting diapers for basically free. Oh how I love those deals and thrills!
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