Journey

Happiness is a Journey, not a destination.


Namaste.

Monday, April 26, 2010

For you...

Just for you, Rachael. 
From April 2010


From April 2010


This was the first time I got this skirt out of her closet..she loves it!  

Just a little potty update...I took a page out of Rachael's book, and have been putting Talia in her panties here at home.  Turns out, she doesn't want to get them wet or messy, and we've had good results with her coming to us to go potty.  She's completely trained for urine, and pooping on the potty is coming a long nicely. 

Friday, April 23, 2010

5th Grade Patriotic Program

Last night was the 5th grade Patriotic Program.  It really was a fun program, the kids obviously worked very hard on it. 
From April 2010

From April 2010


The boys in their Sailor costumes...
From April 2010


The kids sing behind the "Founding Fathers" as they write the Declaration of Independence!
From April 2010


Kyle gives his part
From April 2010

He did great, I was so proud of him!  (and  a litte irritated about how they did the lighting during his part...it made it so I couldn't get a good pic.)

I was really proud of Kyle!  

I took all these pictures without a flash...so mostly I'm pleased with how they turned out. 

Thursday, April 22, 2010

A monthly ritual

I thought I'd share some of the process of my monthly ritual...getting my hair cut and colored. 

I've been with the same stylist for almost 5 years.  Her name is Janelle Taylor, and she's a genius with color.  She's also a perfectionist, which means my cut and color are always perfect.  She started out at a salon near my house, but a little over a year ago, moved to a more upscale salon.  She works at Salon Tantrum on highway 193 in Layton. 

First of all, it's an amazing salon.  It spans the entire top floor of the building.  It's a very relaxing environment.  They have probably 20 or so stylist stations, but no crowding.  The nail stations are separated a bit, so you never have "fume" spillover.  They also have esthetician and massage services available.  They serve coffee, hot chocolate, soft drinks, and of course water.  They also bring around a snack mix that is so delicious, as well as frozen grapes.  Really relaxing, upscale environment. 

So, here I'm all in my foils
From April 2010


During the washing out process, they also give you a head massage and the option of a facial pressure point massage.  I love to enjoy both, but Janelle still has the best technique for the facial massage of any of the girls who've ever done it...

All washed out...
From April 2010


Did I mention that the view from the windows is stunning?  

And here's me and the "artist" (because she truly is) who styles my hair....
From April 2010


I highly recommend the salon.  Janelle is at one of the medium price points for her experience level, but if you go in to a more beginning stylist, the prices are lower, but you still get the experience, (and the more experienced stylists mentor the newer ones, so you don't have to worry that way, either). 

If you do go in, put my name as the referral so I can earn points towards services. 

After my hair appointment yesterday, I dropped in on my Dad at work.  It was his birthday.  Happy Birthday Dad!  I couldn't have asked for a better father!  Even during all our years of arguing (that stopped when I finally Won one... ;)) , you were the best! I love you!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

I'm Saying Farewell

Don't get me wrong, it's a fond farewell.  We've been together for 11 years, an on again off again relationship.  They've seen me through 3 wonderful children, and almost never let me down, through the most messy times, they always seemed to keep it all together.  No matter how I tried to prolong it, I have come to the realization that it's time to say goodbye. 

I will never buy another package of diapers (for one of my own children) again.  There is a certain amount of bittersweetness to this monumental event. 

2 days before Talia's birthday, she told me she didn't want her diapers, she wanted her panties.  She did great all that day, and we've had some hits and misses since, but 3 weeks later, she's completely trained for urine.  She takes pride in staying dry, and I was worried today, because I worked last night, but she came to wake me from my dozing when she needed to go. 

Unfortunately, I will still be buying pull ups for awhile, because my fearless daughter is afraid to poop in the toilet.  Not even the bribe of Pez (one of her favorites) can convince her it's ok. 

That doesn't matter so much to me, I know it will come.  I knew this milestone was coming, and I'm very excited!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Working Backwards....

April 11th-12th

Talia finally got to open her last birthday present...from Grandma and Grandpa.

She loves it!!!!
From April 2010
From April 2010
From April 2010

April l0th

Today was our first Lagoon outing as a family this year. It was actually warmer than we expected it to be, and we had a great few hours at the park!
From April 2010
From April 2010
From April 2010
From April 2010
From April 2010

April 8th
The kids finally got to meet their new cousin Danielle!

From April 2010
From April 2010

Also, I bought Talia her first "lips"...a Cotton Candy flavored LipSmacker...she was so excited, and loves it!
From April 2010
From April 2010
She's actually pretty good at applying it, and has been really good not to put it on anything else!

April 5th
This was the last day of spring break. I worked the 3 days prior, so I was tired. My mom called in the morning, and said that she and my brother's family were going to go to lunch at the Pizza Factory, and then bowling at Fat Cats. She wanted to take my kids, but I didn't want to miss the fun, so I went too! I was exhausted by the end, but we had such a good time, it was worth it. Plus, my sister drove up from SLC to join us!
From April 2010
From April 2010
From April 2010
From April 2010
From April 2010

April 2nd/5th
And then of course, Easter. Since I had the unfortunate circumstance to be scheduled all 3 days of Easter weekend (Fri, Sat, and Sun), we dyed eggs Friday morning before I left for work. It went very smoothly this year...it's nice all the kids are old enough now to understand what careful means. It was really fun and low key...
From April 2010
From April 2010
From April 2010
From April 2010

Cole woke me Sunday morning when the kids got up. We had a wild, frantic easter egg hunt (which means I didn't get many pictures, but at least I tried). The kids loved their "loot". Then, I went back to bed.....

From April 2010
From April 2010
From April 2010
They got Candy, small toys, and socks and underwear from the Easter bunny. Grandma came through with more candy, summer clothes, and swimsuits!

It's been a good couple of weeks. Now that I'm all caught up, I don't feel so daunted by the task of actually catching up. Oh, and my phone's fixed now too :).

No, this time I really mean it...

I WILL be catching up. Actually, after this post, I will be posting a catch up...I may not backdate the actual post, but I will date entries within the post. But first....

I'm having an emotional morning. I'm off work today, our phone line isn't working, and I'm catching up on all the chores that run a household. That's not why I'm emotional, however. Or at least not totally why.

While I've been doing chores, I've been catching up on my TiVo. I watched this week's episode of "The Biggest Loser", which always ends up pulling at my heartstrings. I've also gotten into "Parenthood", which comes on right after. I was watching Tuesday's episode, and it brought a lot of feelings to the surface....

As mothers, I think we all worry about our actions and how they influence our children. As a working mother, I worry, period. I feel lucky to have a full time career that limits my time away from my children. How many full time working (defining "working" as working outside the home, because we all work inside the home as well :)) moms have the option of working at night, while their children are mostly sleeping, having 4 days off, including some weekdays, and only having to have limited amounts of childcare, because of the career I picked? Sure, I sacrifice some sleep, and I'm not always cheerful on little sleep....but I'm here. I'm here to kiss my babies' "owwies", when they're still young enough to want that. To get them off to school every morning. To play princess castle with my daughter, to play dinosaurs and cars with my sons when they were little. I was always taught that I was meant for great things.

My mother got married young, and then had a happy surprise when she got pregnant with me. Her morning sickness was terrible, and she had to drop out of college. I remember how important it was to her and my grandparents to go back and finish her degree. I remember how she would take care of us and study for her classes, and when she got her degree and her teaching job how exciting it was! I always knew I'd work. I didn't always plan on being a mom, but then, in high school, I wanted to be a doctor. Then, I met my amazing husband, and decided that I wanted a family more than I wanted medical school. After exploring various healthcare career options, I am happy with the career path I've taken. However, I have guilt. I sometimes see all the stay at home moms that I'm blessed to be friends with, and feel inadequate. I feel like I can't keep up. I feel blessed to be included, but know that my job and hours naturally exclude me from some things. That's ok. Until my inner mom conscience starts whispering..."shouldn't you do that? ____ does that and that, you should too. _____ can do all that...you should do more".

I really hate that voice.

My children are healthy and happy. They are well adjusted. All of them are very social, relatively fearless. Is that just personality, or is it because they had early daycare exposure? Someone made a comment in my presence last week that I really tried not to take personally. It was meant as encouragement to a mom who needed it, but it struck at the core of my "working Mom" guilt. Should I have tried harder in that area? Did it anyway, even though it made me miserable?

I love what I do. I hold Life and Death in my hands on a daily basis, and mostly, through our Lords help and plan, Life wins. I have bad days at work. There are times when I think the politics will kill me, when the gossip and backbiting drag me into a pit of despair. Nights when I feel like the emotional chill pervading the environment will freeze me to death. When I feel totally isolated. Those nights make me long for my home, my family. Then, gifts of serenity and friendship will reach out, and I remember that it's not about the people, it's about the babies. I was given a gift and talent for healing, and direction in my patriarchal blessing to use this gift. So I remember, and press on.

Today, however, I feel blessed to be at home, in my jammies, playing with my daughter and her princesses, doing laundry, cleaning, and being at home. Even though I have to wait for the Qwest guy to come repair the phone.

I know some of my examples won't make sense to my readers. This post is just for me, to purge my mind, clear my thoughts, and most especially, to express my love and appreciation for all the friends I have...the people I can count on to "hook me up" with serenity and friendship.

That's why I'm publishing it.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Catching up...

I'll be catching up soon. I Promise!!!

Keep an eye out, I'll be back dating all the posts to the appropriate day...

Monday, April 5, 2010

Call Me Crazy

Check this out, and join me if you dare!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Happy Birthday My Baby!

Talia had a great birthday yesterday. I had worked the night before, so Kyle got her out of bed when she woke up and let me sleep in a little bit. When I got up to get breakfast going, she ran right up to me and said "Mommy! It's my Birthday!" She was so excited. I sang to her, and then we got pictures of her putting the last day on the birthday countdown.

I tried to doze during the morning. No luck at sleeping, my daughter was bouncing off the walls with excitement. Around 11, I gave up, got up, and started making her birthday treats. She told me last week that she wanted "Pink cupcakes, Mommy!" My husband wanted yellow cupcakes, and I wanted chocolate, so I made both. I ended up using mixes, because I was tired and didn't want to have to think about it(when I bake when I'm tired, sometimes I forget things...or calculate ingredients wrong...). Talia really enjoyed the beaters....
From Talia's 3rd Birthday

After lunch, Talia and I laid down for a nap. She hasn't been napping well lately...but honestly, all I really need is the quiet time. If she wants to play quietly in her room for an hour or so, so that I can get a nap before I work, that's fine. I was really tired, though, so I was hoping she'd fall asleep. I fell asleep...only to be awakend 20 minutes later. Alec, trying to be nice and helpful, had heard Talia playing in her room, and got her up (she still doesn't realize she can let herself out of her room...it's nice). So, I didn't get any more sleep...

I made the frosting for the cupcakes. Pink, for the birthday girl, and purple, because it's MY favorite color :). Then we showered, and dressed Talia all up in her new birthday skirt and shirt. She was SO VERY EXCITED!!!
From Talia's 3rd Birthday
From Talia's 3rd Birthday

I got the cupcakes all frosted. Since events of the past couple of weeks made most everyone unable to attend a bigger family birthday party, we decided to just have our own little celebration. We did have extra cupcakes, though, so Talia and I delivered some to our housebound relatives. Along with a couple of my friends, who share a birthday with her.

Talia wanted McDonalds for dinner, so I picked that up for the kids on the way home. We opened presents...which she LOVED...then we ate and had her blow out the candles on her cupcake.

From Talia's 3rd Birthday

She then proceeded to lick all the frosting off her cupcake, and then played with her new toys all night.

She went to bed singing the Happy Birthday song to herself...it was really cute.

She had a good birthday, and it wasn't nearly as difficult for me as I thought it was going to be.