Someone Else's Story

Chris and the girls went to Aberdeen without me. Don't feel sorry for me--that was the whole point. I needed a break, and I figured they would appreciate having something to do beyond me just being gone. I also guessed that I would have a better break if they were 200 miles away without any expectation of me being available...

While I did have Chris's support, I think he was subconciously against leaving. Or at least he was hesitant to leave town too quickly. We all said goodbye at 9:30 Friday morning. At 9:35, Chris called and informed me that he had forgotten to eat breakfast. I hadn't eaten yet, either, so we met up at McDonald's. Yeah, that goodbye lasted a long time. But breakfast was tasty.

The next goodbye lasted a bit longer. Chris made it all the way to Kaysville--that fateful off-ramp where we ran out of gas on Thanksgiving 2009. In the metro. When Megan was the same age Ben is now. Flashback! The metro started billowing all kinds of smoke on the freeway. They managed to get off, check out a few things, then slowly (very slowly) drive back to Salt Lake on Highway 89.

I got the phone call while mindlessly ambling through Walmart. I was certain my retreat was cancelled then and there. But never fear! Grandpa Jeff and Uncle Christian saved the day.

We met back up, Chris took the van, and I borrowed the Taurus. The same Taurus that belonged to us when Jane was born. That car I drove back when I only had one kid, and I was using it on the weekend when I only had one kid with me. Flashback!

At this point, though, Chris and the girls had already been sitting in a car for about two hours. Didn't seem like the best time to start another 3 1/2 hour drive. So, they went to McDonald's (again) to get some lunch and burn off some energy to encourage naps.

I had already ditched back out, had had a relaxing lunch alone, and was mindlessly ambling through Barnes and Noble when I got another phone call. Chris had locked his keys in the van. See what I mean about subconciously not wanting to leave?

But they did actually leave that time. And it only took four goodbyes, all told. What can I say--they like me.

Here's where I feel like I'm cheating a little bit and telling someone else's story. I (obviously) wasn't there, so I can only go by what's in the pictures and what limited stories I've heard from Chris and Jane. I'd add Megan's stories, too, but she doesn't really talk much.

It appears that they played basketball.

I think they were cheating, though. I'm pretty sure that move isn't permitted in the NBA.

Jane's fascination with the camera resurfaced yet again, to her credit, I think.

But look, she was in one of the pictures, too. Yay!

I heard that Jane prayed that they could go to the park, so they went to the park. Remember, God often answers blessings through other people. Like a little girl's dad.

And introducing one of Megan's best pictures ever. I would have posted it in the "Yay Megan" post, but I felt like it was stealing from this post. So I'll show it now.

See. Adorable. No denying it.

They fed horses.

I think. It might be that they looked at horses and fed themselves.

On Saturday, they went to the zoo in Idaho Falls with Amanda. They had maps there. Jane told me all about that one.

They had animals there, too. Surprise! I bet you hadn't guessed they'd have animals at the zoo. I know they did because I saw the pictures.

They even let you touch some of the animals.

Here's where it's good to be with Dad. Mom won't play that game. Like I told Chris this morning--I believe in equality. I dislike all animals equally.

It was a good trip overall, I think. They all seemed to enjoy it from what I hear. I know they missed me though. When Chris and I first met in Alaska, he bought us a pair of stuffed moose. He took mine with him to Idaho, and it earned a special seat on the ride home on Sunday.

I told you he missed me. Sometimes, it's good to be wanted.

Middle Child

Jane talks a lot. Ben cries a lot. They get a lot of attention.

Megan is pretty chill and just goes with whatever's happening. And she gets less attention because of it. Less than two months with three kids and already we're battling Middle Child Syndrome.

Let's give Megan some attention, shall we?

Megan likes to just hang out. As I said, she'll just go along with whatever. She is often content to just be.

I don't get many pictures of her on her own because she rarely leaves Jane alone. The recent pictures of just her are, in fact, courtesy of Jane and a consequence of Mom leaving the camera within reach and unsupervised.

She is pretty photogenic though, isn't she? Her hair was actually done up very cute in that last picture...too bad that's the part of her head that's cut off.

The latest and greatest excitement in Megan's life is a new toddler bed. I was hesitant to add one more level of crazy to our lives, but it was basically a seamless transition. The mattress and bedding are all straight from the crib, so it feels exactly the same to her; the only difference is she can get in and out herself. She loves it and will often just sit on her bed at random times during the day.

I was mostly worried about Jane keeping her awake or coaxing her out of bed when it's time to be going to sleep. In a week, that hasn't happened at all. Mornings, though, are another story. Generally what wakes me up in the morning is Megan stomping around saying, "Mommy! Mommy!" and Jane running on tiptoes saying, "Shhhh, Megan! Be quiet or you'll wake them up!" It's actually pretty amusing. Sometimes I stay in my room longer just because I think it's funny to listen to them.

Next step: take down the crib.

As much as I'd like to just give the attention to Megan, I really can't say anything about her and keep Jane out. As you may have already noticed. They get along well for the most part.

Megan will let Jane boss her around as long as it suits her, but when she's done, she's done and will find something else to do, regardless of what Jane thinks. She's big enough, too, that Jane can't really push her around. For as quiet as Megan is, she's just as opinionated.

Most of the time, though, they are good friends. Their current favorite is playing with the dollhouse.

The dolls in residence are Troy and Aberlina. I'll let you guess who named them. Come over sometime and I'll introduce you.

Despite how hard it is having three kids, I think I'll keep 'em. All of them. :)

Our "School Player"

Introducing our first ever preschooler!

Jane will be attending preschool two days a week in the afternoons. She has been so excited to go to school! Can you tell?

Megan wanted to get in on the picture action...

Jane's favorite activity when she gets home is homework. No, they have not given 3-year-olds homework. Jane's "homework" is writing in her notebook. And when I say "writing" I mean scribbling and attempting the six or seven letters she tries to imitate.
 

This is her current best attempt at writing her name. Even though they are not in the right order, she at least has some semblance of the correct four letters. I call that progress.
 

 The week before school started, we got Jane's hair cut. I love her long hair, but it was getting straggly at the end and didn't look very nice.

I took her to Cookie Cutters. She loved the car and the movie, but it took a good bit of bribery to get her to wear the cape. Once she got over that, though, she had a good time.

I think it turned out quite well. Nothing drastic, just evening out the ends. Now it can keep growing straight. (Side note...it still seems weird to me sometimes how different my girls' hair is from each other and from mine. Who knew I would have a blond child? And at the same time, who knew there would only be one?)

My girl is growing up! When we were walking home from school on Monday, I asked her what she did in class. Her response: "Nothing." Ah! I thought that wouldn't start for a few years at least.

She has since told me all about the sun, clouds, families, and walking feet in the halls. We also must all sit on our pockets now if we're on the floor. Good to know she's learning something, even if she still thinks she's only playing at school. :)

Mother's Retreat

My 30 day book meme attempt at reinvigorating my blogging mojo didn't work. This temporary slacking is a little more complicated than just having nothing to say.

To put it mildly, having three kids is kicking my trash. Not going well.

No one likes to admit that they're not amazing, but I found it rather unavoidable for me this time. Why? I had to leave. Being with all three kids all day long was getting progressively worse day by day, and I knew we were about to hit critical mass. Bad. So, I came up with a grand plan to prevent disaster.

In short, I sent my kids away. And then I left, too.

While Chris took the girls to his parents' house in Aberdeen, Ben and I went to a hotel for Friday night. My purpose was two-fold: 1) evaluate why I want to be a mother and how I want to do it, and 2) just have a break.

When I checked into the hotel, the receptionist asked if I was there for business or pleasure. I said business. My job is being a mom, and that's what I was there to work on. Business it is.

It was quite the spiritual adventure, I must say. I prayed a lot, read a lot, and wrote a lot. I have over forty pages written in my journals just from that one night and morning.

What I learned is a different post for another day. Suffice it to say, I have a much bigger perspective on the work that I'm really doing now.

It was nice having Ben with me. One tiny baby is much, much easier to handle than a baby and a toddler and a preschooler. For the most part, he was quite content to let me do my work.

When he was awake, though, his happy smiles helped me remember that being a mom really is worth the effort.

I spent Friday night in the hotel. Saturday was a day of doing whatever I wanted. Ah, it was glorious. A few things I particularly enjoyed:

I ate an entire candy bar. All by myself. No one even asked for a bite.

I took a shower with no fear of property damage.

I left a pen on the floor and none of its ink ended up on the wall.

None of my bookmarks came out of my books.

I listened to the radio in the car and no one yelled at me because I didn't hear them talking.

I bought a Christmas present and no one saw it.

There wasn't any grand miraculous fix in just that one weekend, but I was much more ready to see the girls again come Sunday night when they came home. It will still take some time to get life how I'd really like it to be, but we're headed in the right direction now, and I know where it is I want to get. And if nothing else, I got a lot of sleep this weekend.

To those of you who already have three kids, kudos to you on surviving (hopefully better than me). Any tips you want to share? To those of you who are still headed in that direction, I wish you luck. :)

Maybe now I can get back to documenting all the fun things we've done, even during this little rough patch. Like what Chris and the girls did in Idaho. And Megan's new toddler bed. And Jane's first day of preschool--how did I miss blogging that?! Come back soon for those posts. It'll be great.

Handsome Little Man

I am overwhelmed today by how many people came to show their love and support for our family. We had quite the party going.

Ben, as star of the show, was decked out in his finest. He looked just like a miniature deacon! I was a little distracted by the roughly 50 people having lunch at our house, so this is the best Ben-only picture I got showing his outfit.

 
But really, the shoes were the best part. Thanks, Wendi! Ah! So cute. I am quite enjoying little boy clothes after more than three years of only little girl clothes.

The blessing was wonderful. I am so so grateful that Chris holds the priesthood and is able to do this for our children. The things shared in the blessing are just a small glimpse into how strong a spirit our little man really is, and how special he is to our Heavenly Father.

I can't say we've ever had quite so many people at our house all at the same time--these people must like us or something. Or they were just hungry.

Lunch was good. We had a potluck barbeque. I don't think we've ever had quite so much fruit at our house all at the same time--Megan was in heaven.

 
For most of the time, Ben slept in the bedroom. All this excitement just for him and he slept right through it. Ha.

He did wake up eventually, and introduced himself to many of the relatives he had yet to meet.

 
(This is just a funny picture because he was mid-sneeze.)

 
Last but not least, we had just a few minutes to snap some blessing day family pictures. It occurred to me that I never did any family pictures on either of the girls' blessing days, so we should today. But then, I think that's part of what made me forget to get a good one of just Ben in his outfit. Oh, well. I can dress him up again later.

Thank you again to everyone who came!