summer, yardwork and motherhood

So, school got out yesterday and I have a child who has finished first grade. How (and when) did that happen? When I picked Ella up after school, I thought she would be excited that it was over and she was free for three months. But when she got in the car, she surprised me by starting to cry. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I'm going to miss my teacher." It broke my heart but I understand why--she had an amazing teacher, Mrs. Johnston, this year who she absolutely adored. I told her that since teachers had to keep working during the summer and would be at the school, we could stop by sometime to visit her. That seemed to make things better.

Speaking of summer, how am I going to keep these two girls of mine busy (oh, and have a baby in the middle of it all)? Well, my friends, I have introduced the idea of "Summer School". I have tried as much as possible to get prepared by buying workbooks and activity books, gathering some ideas of things to do and creating a schedule to keep me organized. I'm excited about it and so are the girls. Ella especially has been talking about it a lot over the past few weeks, thinking of fun things we can do and planning when we can do them. I think it will be fun and I'm trying hard to keep them involved in the planning so they stay interested and so they do the actual learning stuff. I'm sure I will be reporting on our progress here often.

Next subject--yardwork. I think I've had enough of it. It seems like that's all we've been doing with our spare time over the past month and a half. Every single Saturday we're out there all day and I think I'm ready to be done. I have a couple of loose ends to tie up but I'm putting my foot down--no more marathon days out working. It's just not right, especially for a seven and a half month pregnant woman! On the positive side, we have made major progress and our yard is looking fantastic (all the shrubs are planted, some flower bulbs made it into the ground, almost all of the trees are in) and we've gotten a lot of fresh air. It's taken a ton of work and needs quite a bit more, but I'm so happy with how it's turning out. It's really becoming a place we can enjoy as a family and I'm loving that.

Last thing I need to comment on is motherhood. The other day, Ella and I were talking about (of all things) cruises. She saw a show on The Travel Channel about a cruise ship and she has been asking us when we can go on one ever since. So, we were talking about them and I was telling her about the ones I've been on and the 30th birthday one I took with my high school girlfriends came up. She asked why she wasn't invited and I told her that sometimes moms need to just get away by themselves sometimes. That was such a confusing concept for her. She wanted to know why and I tried to explain how and why a mom's job was hard and that it's important that we have some time to ourselves. She said, "It doesn't seem that hard to me. You just make people some food and get their clothes and stuff like that." I realized that I was never going to be able to explain to her everything that goes into being a mom--the joys, frustrations, difficulties, struggles, successes, etc., etc. It is something she will never understand until she experiences it someday herself. I had heard for years that motherhood is the hardest job in the world but I had to become a mother myself to truly understand what that means. So, to my own mother, who I never fully appreciated and who was the best example of motherhood (and still is), thank you and I love you. And to all the other mothers I get to interact with (sister, sisters-in-law, friends), a big shout-out to you and a thank you for your support, humor and example of mothering all these amazing little people. Take a second everyday to be grateful for this amazing job we have and give all those kiddos lots of hugs and kisses. I know I'm going to. Oh, and take a cruise by yourself or with some girlfriends sometime--I'm feeling about due for another one. How about it, ladies?

simple pleasures

Recently, I've been noticing some small and simple things that can really make my day. Here are a few:

1. Freshly washed sheets
2. Ella and Ava playing without one of them screaming within five minutes
3. Watching things around the yard come back after a long, cold winter
4. Sitting on my front porch in the evening
5. Sunday afternoon naps
6. Pedicures
7. Email (or even better, real mail) from a friend
8. A tall glass of ice water

I'm trying to notice more and more of these everyday because sometimes my days as a stay-at-home mom can seem a little monotonous and "Groundhog Day"-ish. By recognizing these small things, I feel more gratitude and joy and am much happier which in turn makes me a better wife and mother. So, here's to the little things--look for some in your life today!

a long awaited adventure

The girls were looking forward for weeks to the day they could ride the new FrontRunner train to Salt Lake to meet daddy after work. Ava and I talked often about the difference between the kind of trains that carry things and the kind that carry people. The best distinction we could come up with was that the kind that carry people have windows. That works.

We tried to go on our public transportation extravaganza during the four or five days that the train was free (during its debut). However, due to the huge crowds and long waits during the free time (because everyone in Utah thought it would be a great idea to go on a public transportation extravaganza with their families--immediate and extended), Tom insisted that we go later and pay. So last week, after much anticipation and patience, we were finally able to go. We sat on the top and had a great view the whole way there. It was slick, smooth and quick. We "raced" cars on the freeway, watched for horses and played musical chairs.

Once we got to SLC we hopped on TRAX and met Tom over at The Gateway where I took the girls to Build-a-Bear (of course) and Tom went to Sur la Table (of course). After dinner at Rumbi we had some time to kill so Tom suggested that we go to the Clark Planetarium. The girls were fascinated by the exhibits and had so much fun learning about the phases of the moon, watching the Foucault pendulum, seeing the comparative sizes of the planets, playing weathergirl, looking through telescopes, riding the ginormous elevator and walking on the moon and Mars. Who knew they'd love "the space place" (as Ava now refers to it) as much as they did?

Good thing these girls have their daddy to spark their interest in science because I sure don't do it. I'll stick with literature and the arts and I think they'll probably turn out OK. We're not asking for much--just well-balanced, well-behaved, brilliant, beautiful daughters. Easy, right? Looks like our train day adventure was a good start.

anything for a horse

The other day, I was driving the kids home from school. We carpool with our neighbors, the Worcotts, who have a son in second grade, Zac, and a daughter in kindergarten, Maddy (Zac, Maddy and Ella are in the photo at left being train conductors together at Disney World). I often eavesdrop on their fascinating conversations and this day was no exception. Part of it went a little like this:

Maddy: Ahhh, I want to see my horse soooo bad. I miss him soooo much.

Me (silently thinking to myself): Do they have a horse that I don't know about? I've never heard that they have a horse.

Ella: Where's your horse:

Maddy: In Colorado.

Zac: He's at cochlear camp (Zac is deaf and has a cochlear implant).

Ella: Huh?

Zac: At cochlear camp.

Ella: I want to go to cochlear camp. What is it?

Zac: You have to have someone in your family who is deaf to go to cochlear camp.

Ella: Oh, I hope our baby is deaf so we can go to cochlear camp.

Ella, I assure you, there are far easier ways to go on a horse ride than to have your little brother be deaf and have to get a cochlear implant so you can go to cochlear camp. In fact, I think I'll start looking into some local horse riding opportunities right now...

our first post...

Well, here we are. Finally blogging. I have started to realize lately how behind the times I truly am. I believe I could qualify as tech-savvy about 12 years ago. If technology hadn't changed at all since then, I would still call myself tech-savvy. But, the world has moved on and I've become a slow adopter of the iPod, the Wii, digital SLRs and, yes, blogging. But, we're here and ready to plunge in with both feet. So, hello out there, welcome to our blog and we hope you come back often to check in with us and to let us know how you're doing!