Broken Arm Post

Okay, I promised pictures of the whole "Arm Breaking" episode. Sooo - here we go! :)

Ella has her old cast on..it was just a simple splint with an ace bandage around it.

Sad face....until she saw the BRIGHT PINK cast she was going to get...


Here she is being a REALLY good girl for the dr.! She didn't whine, cry, fuss, nothing! She just sat there and did everything he asked. Such a good girl!

Oooooooooo - look at that pink cast!!!!
So excited! :) She was a trooper with her cast. She only told me once that she didn't really like it. She is right handed, too, so she was having to do everything with her left hand for three weeks! She became quite ambidextrous :) When we went to get her cast off - she didn't whine or cry either! That machine is a little scary and super loud, too. The nurses and doctors were impressed. Ella told them that she was "one tough cookie!" I agree... :)

New Stage of Parenting...

Yes, we have reached a new stage in parenting.

Friends.

I'm not sure how I feel about this new stage. There are definite pros and cons....let's list some of them:

Pros:
- Ella is learning how to get along with others
- Ella plays outside A LOT, which I feel is healthy both physically and mentally
- Ella is learning how to share and play
- Mom gets a lot of quiet time when Tommy is napping and Ella is outside playing
- Ella learns a lot about nature and the world around her (right now it is the wonderment of baby ducks and geese, although the geese are MEAN....but she's learning that, too)

Cons:
- Tattle-telling. It is driving me crazy. And it comes from both the friends...and Ella. Holy crap.
- The constant door knocking, doorbell ringing, AAAALLLL day. We live below them, so every time they walk up or down the stairs, each of them has to ring the door bell...separately. It drives me crazy.
- The potty words Ella is picking up. I am VERY firm with the kids when they are in my apartment that they can't use words like, "poop" or "butt" unless referring to that exact thing, but when they are outside, I can't do much!
- The dirt. Ella is filthy when she comes inside and goes through a couple different outfits a day. I guess this is normal??

So yeah. Just a thought on this new stage of parenting....it is hard to know what I can and can't say to other people's kids, too. Like, I don't want to be bossy or overstep my bounds when their parents say they can do something, but I say they can't. When they are in my house, though...it is my rules. So that's good. It's just when they are outside that is tricky.

Anyway, anyone else have any thoughts or experiences on this stage?

Kids Say the Darndest things...

Okay, these have got to be my favorite posts, just because every time I read them - they crack me up! So, here are a few...

While driving to pick up Tom from work, Ella shouted:
"Mom! That truck doesn't have a head on it!"
Me: *confused* what?
She saw a big semi trailer without the cab on it. :) Pretty funny...

Ella: Mom, "dammit" is a naughty word.
Me: Yeah, don't say that
Ella: I didn't!
Me: You just did, Ella.
Ella: No, I didn't! I was just telling you!

Ella: Mom, you're the best!
Me: Well, thanks Ella!
Ella: Haha! Just teasing!

Caption for above picture: "Dad! We are just being scary animals! ROAR!!!"

Ella and I had planted some lettuce seeds in a little plastic cup. They were growing pretty well until:
Ella: Mom, come look!
Me: What?
Ella: I died your plants, mom.
Me: You what??
Ella: Look! *Shows me the little green sprouts all over the kitchen floor* I died them, Mom. I just wanted to
Me: Why did you do that?? That makes me so sad! Now they are dead, we have to throw them away
Ella: I just wanted to die them mom...



Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Ella: I'm gonna be a boy and go to work.
Me: You have to be a boy to go to work?
Ella: Yep.
Me: How are you going to be a boy?
Ella: Well, you go in the shower and use dads soap!
Me: And that turns you into a boy?
Ella: Yep!
Sounds like solid logic to me. Better not get that soap mixed up... :) Haha!

After putting Tommy's hair in a mohawk for the first time:
Tommy: *crying*
Ella: Mom, he is crying because he doesn't like his hair.
Me: Ella, I'm pretty sure he doesn't mind his hair
Ella: No mom...he doesn't like it. Look, he's crying.
Me: Do you like his hair?
Ella: No. I don't.

After cutting my hair short
Ella: What did you do to your hair??
Me: I cut it.
Ella: I don't like it.
Me: You don't???
Ella: No, I think its stupid
Me: Ella, that makes me sad.
Ella: Well, I just don't like it.



After renting The Swan Princess (which I had forgotten how stupid of a movie that was...we will not be checking that out from the library again...)
Ella: I want to watch the Princess Goose!

She is so funny :) She is getting quite the attitude and spends a lot of time in time out lately because of back talking, sticking her tongue out, and even kicking. It is funny to watch her be defiant because you can see an obvious internal battle happening in her mind. She wants to stick her tongue out so bad....but she isn't quite sure she wants to go through with it....then she does...then she doesn't....then she does...and goes into time out. It's pretty funny. I would say the hardest part about disciplining is trying not to laugh out loud! Haha! Love this kid...



A blurb about Tommy: He is getting SO big! He is already in the same size diapers that Ella was right before she was potty trained! This kid is a chunk. I love it. He has so many dimples on his face and just eats and eats and eats! He is still on two naps a day, even though he is ten months old. It is good and bad: good because it gives me four hours of just Ella during the day, but bad because it is hard to do anything during the day because he's either sleeping - or cranky. Oh well, I'm not complaining. When he isn't sleeping, eating, or pooping, he is one happy kid! He pulls himself up onto everything and walks around the apartment holding onto things. He and Ella generally get along, but sometimes she gets rough with him and that leads to a bonked head/face and tears. But he recovers quickly. His favorite foods are raviolis and popsicles. He does NOT like macaroni and cheese (go figure! It's Ella's favorite!) He can eat almost a whole can of ravioli by himself, and whenever we go out anywhere with both kids, he finishes up whatever Ella doesn't eat. It's pretty convenient :)



His hair is still SUPER blond and doesn't seem to be getting any thicker. We like to do it in a mohawk, though, which is pretty long. I dig it. :) His eyes are VERY blue. He looks so different than Ella, but so much the same. Its kinda funny. I have a feeling he will be walking pretty soon, so that is exciting. Love this kid.

Broken baby!

This is going to be a short post without any pictures because, frankly, I'm exhausted. I still have to fold the laundry, do the dishes, and straighten up the apartment and have no motivation to do any of that. So I am blogging instead - but only briefly to tell of our adventures today.

Our adventure today actually started Saturday afternoon. Ella was climbing up on our dresser (her new favorite past time...) and totally fell off. She said she hurt her arm, but my motto is "no blood - you're okay" and after a while she stopped whining, so we figured that was that. Well, the rest of the day she didn't use it at all. Sunday was the same deal - she wouldn't use it and she wouldn't let us touch it. I started to get suspicious....

Monday, the babies and I went to the Childrens Museum with Barbara and her babies. I wrapped Ella's arm in an ace bandage 'cause Tom and I figured it was probably sprained, so she should move it as little as possible. She did NOT like the bandage...but too bad for her. So she had to wear it and didn't use it AT ALL. I mean...to the point that she wouldn't even LIFT it all day! That's when I started to worry. So I told Tom that if it still hurt really bad in the morning, I was taking her in. He agreed.

Well, last night Ella finally let me kind of touch her wrist. We played the "does it hurt here?" game for a few minutes and she thought it was all fun and games until I tried to rotate her wrist slowly. That's when she JUMPED, cried, and said the game was over. Poor thing :(

Sooooooo, this morning we had an appointment at 10:40 to go see a doc. He checked her out and ordered us x-rays. Well, because of our insurance, we couldn't go to the hospital x-ray place right next door, we had to drive a couple miles instead. It was fine, except I parked in the wrong parking lot (I wish they labeled where EVERYWHERE was in a hospital, instead of just the big ones - Emergency Room, Women's Pavillion, etc. even though I know the signs would be ginormous...) So I had Tommy in a carrier (which he is getting REALLY heavy now) and Ella trailing behind as we walked about a bajillion miles through the hospital to the right location: Radiology. We sat down and surprisingly only had to wait like five minutes until they saw us (AWESOME!) So we all went into the x-ray room.

Inserting shout out to the Disney Channel: Thank you to Bubble Guppies for explaining what an x-ray is only a few days ago! It was VERY helpful having that as a reference for Ella! :D Ha!

Anyway, after explaining that the Dr. is taking a special picture of her bones with this HUGE camera and we get to play dress up at the same time (the radiation shield and stuff), he took all the x-rays. It took a while 'cause I think he was new. But Ella was a TROOPER! She didn't cry, whimper, whine, NOTHING! She sat super still like a big girl and did exactly what he told her! Meanwhile, Tommy is in the tech room crying because it is lunch/nap time....poor Tommy!

So that was that. Then we went and picked up Dad for lunch 'cause Ella needed some dad-lovin'. She chose "Old McDonalds" for lunch and ate almost all her cheeseburger - Tommy ate the rest. Then we went home to rest. By now it was after 2:30. The doctor called us about an hour later saying "yep! Ella has a fracture". I only talked to the nurse, so I don't know how bad the fracture is or anything. But we have an appointment to get a cast on Friday. Not excited for that.

I explained to Ella that in a couple days she gets a special BIG bandaid like her splint...but it doesn't come off - she wasn't excited for that. But then I told her she could pick ANY color - yep even pink...or purple. AND we get to color on it and we'll write her name with hearts and stars. She was pretty excited about that. Little does she know.... :( Poor baby!

So that is why I am tired. It may not sound like that tiring of a day, but on top of that I was being a good wife and dug out Tom's snow skis and boots from our storage unit (which is a little like finding a needle in a really heavy haystack) and then went to D.I. to try to find some snow pants to no avail. Tom's cute butt is just too big ;)

Tom got invited to go snowboarding tonight and since he hardly gets invited to anything by his buddies - I URGED him to go! So he is night skiing with his friends :) Which makes me happy.

So it is 8:30p.m. I have one child asleep. And another that has been in bed for an hour and is still wide awake singing and telling herself stories. It's a good thing Tommy is becoming such a heavy sleeper :) I have dishes to finish and laundry to fold. Something tells me that it going to be a Wednesday activity instead of a Tuesday activity.

Oh, and if anyone wants to bring me a Sonic watermelon limeade - that would be awesome. I'm sure Ella wouldn't mind some more popsicles, too, while you're at it ;)

Be Like Unto a Little Child...

In Sunday school, and in the Bible, we are taught to be like little children. I've always kind of passed that off as something that wasn't that important. I mean, sure there are a lot of things that are good about kids, but does He really want us to be like KIDS?? Certainly not MY kids! Ha! If that was the case, the world would be full of nothing but Macaroni & Cheese, Wonder Pets!, and messes, messes, messes! Or, in the case of my other child, it would consist of poopie diapers, waking up every hour in the night, and lots of rug burned knees (He is learning how to crawl).

Then I had a little realization. I wouldn't call it an epiphany, which I classify as a moment of great realization that almost makes you fall to the ground. But it was definitely a realization that made me go, "Huh....yeah....that is right...." I had the realization that children, up to a certain age, love unconditionally.

Sure, children are teachable, which is also a good characteristic that I'm sure we are all supposed to have. Children are also generally kind and innocent, which are also good things to be. But I think the main thing that we are supposed to learn from children is to love unconditionally.

Ella taught me this. Ella is the friendliest, most outgoing kid I've met. She is automatically friends with EVERYONE she meets: adults, big kids, little kids, babies, animals, EVERYONE. She calls them her "new best friend" and is SO excited to see everyone and is pretty distraught when we have to go home from them. Ella is definitely "no respecter of persons", as the scriptures say, which I interpret to mean - everyone is equal in her eyes.

She also is completely forgiving. No matter what anyone does to her (mostly meaning me) she automatically forgives them and is "best friends" with them again. Sometimes I lose my temper and am a little too harsh on her. She is upset for a little bit, but as soon as I lighten up, she immediately is my "best friend" and wants to cuddle. Seriously - how often do we get our feelings hurt, or are offended, and we IMMEDIATELY lighten up without the person apologizing or anything? I don't know about you, but I definitely DON'T! She doesn't hold a grudge and doesn't even need an apology.

Ella is also trusting. Now, I know this can be a good and a bad thing, but I'm talking about it in a good way. She doesn't think anyone is going to hurt her feelings and she only expects the best from people. I don't think she can possibly fathom anyone being MEAN. I, for one, have a hard time opening up to people about my true feelings because I'm worried people won't understand or will judge me or whatever. Ella doesn't care. She loves everyone and tells everyone how she feels.

Now, I know Ella is only three and she isn't perfect, by all means, but she is my daily example and reminder of what it means to be "liken unto a little child." If a three year old can be more Christlike than me....then I seriously need to step it up.

What do you think?

Post about Tommy :)

So I realized the other day that I didn't really have any posts dedicated to Tommy. Granted, not many things are interesting in a day in the life of a baby, but here are some cute pictures and some info about the Little Dude :)

Here he is all bundled up and ready to weather the cold!

He is learning how to eat by himself, which is VERY good because it keeps him entertained in his little chair! He likes the little puff cereal and yogurt puffs. His favorite foods include bananas and peaches. He does NOT like green beans, peas, or squash. He is pretty picky when it comes to food and gets maaaaaad if I try to feed him something he doesn't like! Spoiled from the beginning...

He is getting pretty good at crawling, but mostly army style. It is pretty cute. He is going to get rug burns on his tummy! haha!

Here he is crawling! so cute :)

Little Tommy is just over seven months old and is biiiiiiig. He is chubby and long, which is totally different than little string bean Ella! He cries a lot more than she did at his age, which is a little obnoxious...but what can you do? He likes being entertained and held...ALL the time. He takes pretty good naps, and goes to bed pretty easy. He is already in size three diapers, which is funny because Ella didn't wear size three diapers until she was one! Even now, she is only in size four pull-ups! Such a string bean. Little Tommy is pretty cute, though, and looooves to giggle! He is really ticklish on his back and head, which is pretty bald. His hair is REALLY fair and in the right light looks red! His eyes are VERY blue, just like his papas!

Tommy and Ella like to play together, but sometimes Ella is a little rough with him...which leads to a bonked head and tears. But ya know, they'll get the hang of it :) Tommy looooves being outside, which is good when it is warm...and unfortunate when it is cold!

Anyway, that's a little about our "Wiggle Dude"! :)

Thoughts?

Okay, so I want peoples honest feedback on this. I think it will help me feel better :)

This is a question to all you stay-at-home Moms:

Do you ever feel like you aren't living up to your full potential when you are just a stay at home mom?

This is how I am feeling right now and I'm not sure if this is normal? I don't want to toot my own horn or anything, but I think I'm pretty smart and a really hard worker and I sometimes feel like playing with play-doh and going for walks is not exactly challenging. I mean, granted I am teaching Ella things every day, but helping a kid wipe their nose isn't exactly rocket science.

I feel like there is more I could be doing. Like, I know I'm a really hard worker and a really good employee. I'm a fast learner and really smart. I've never had a boss that didn't want me to quit and the only job I've ever not been good at was working for my dad (go figure! haha!) I feel like being cooped up in my house is going to drive me crazy. I've had a job since before I was married and was either working full time, going to school full time, or a mix of the two. Even when we were living on the island and I wasn't allowed to have a real job, I ended up being Spouses Org President, teaching piano lessons two days a week, and being seminary teacher. AND having Ella.

Right now I am just being mom. I feel like I am being a big slacker because all I do is laundry, clean, and feed my kids. And a lot of times I don't even want to do those things! I know that being a mom is really important and that there isn't anything else better that I could be doing...but sometimes it is hard to remember that. I read a lot and play with Ella a lot. Is this really what being a stay-at-home mom is?? Or am I missing something??

I've looked into fencing lessons and I can't find any that work around Tom's schedule. I've looked into cooking classes and they are just too expensive. I found a book club, but it is at the same time as Tom's online class. I found some activities at the library, but they are for mom and kids. I want something WITHOUT kids. Is that terrible? I want adult conversations that don't evolve around Mickey Mouse Playhouse or Dora the Explorer...or potty training or baby food. I don't really have many friends in Salt Lake yet and the girls in the ward don't seem like they are very social with each other. Our ward is REALLY transient so it is hard to make friends, but we'll see how it goes!

Anyway, I think I am just getting a little burnt out of being cooped up inside all day, every day. Anyone else feel this same way? What do you do to find more satisfaction out of just being a mom???