Okay, so I hear this all the time. Marriage is hard. Marriage is so hard. You really have to work at marriage. etc etc etc. I don't get it. I've never thought being married is hard. And we've had some pretty significant challenges in the course of our 7+ years. I'm not sure what people mean when they say marriage is hard. What makes it hard? This is why I think my marriage is NOT "hard": we are soulmates, we support each other 100%, we let the other person know when something is bothering us (this is more me than Chuck), we don't let things bother us (this is Chuck more than me), we spend time together and time alone, I spend time without my kids, we have the same goals, we don't thrive on contention or confrontation, we share household and child responsibilities, and we are on the same page financially.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Impatience and Cheetos
So, I had a hard day with the kids yesterday. Every Thursday morning they go with their dad to bagels. It's tradition. Then I teach a class and they go to "kids club". We come home for a bit and then go to the park for our play group. We usually stay about 2 hours. Which takes us until about 1 o'clock. The kids have been their usual whiny, fit throwing selves, but up until now, so far so good. On the way home from the park, I wanted to pick up some things at Walgreens. Cameron immediately starts talking about buying a toy. When I say he isn't going to get one, but I'll let him get a treat. He starts throwing a fit. So, I start throwing one back. I have no patience today! My lack of patience is probably exacerbated by my exhaustion. I tell him he doesn't need to get a toy every time we go to the store, that he has a birthday coming up and that he just bought a whole bunch of new toys while in Sea World (more on that later). I say we just won't go to Walgreens if they are going to be begging for toys. He then decides he won't ask for a toy and will settle for the treat. So, we went to Walgreens. And for her treat, Hannah picked out Cheetos. I hate Cheetos! But I also hate fits, especially in stores when I can't just drag the kid out because I need to get things and I have two other kids with me. When we get home, all the kids want to do is watch TV. Although, we've had a busy enough day up to this point, they've watched enough TV. So, all afternoon we have fits about me not letting them watch TV. Hannah is pretty good about playing on her own, but Cameron is not (after nearly 5 years, it has not gotten better). And H is more likely to "molest" me if Cameron is also. And that is exactly what he does all day if I am not either playing with him or letting him watch TV. The kids are also fighting a lot. We make it through dinner and getting ready for bed. Chuck had to leave before the kids where in bed for a meeting. I got them all in bed relatively easy and was spending my time getting the house cleaned up when I thought I heard H. So, I go to check on her and she is laying in a pile of puke! Much of it was in her hair, huge chunks. I bathe her, get her sheets changed and get her back in bed before Chuck gets home. But, shortly after Chuck gets home, she does it again. Only this time not as bad. It only requires a pajama top change and sheets changed. She was fine when she went to bed and fine the rest of the night. I'm convinced it was too many Cheetos. I have Cheetos! So, not only do I go to bed later than planned because of the puking, but I go to bed mad at myself for being so impatient with my kids during the day. Even with the addition of Christian and Hannah being very difficult lately, I haven't been going to bed feeling like that much lately, but when I do, I hate it. I hate losing my patience with my kids!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Ride Your Bike to Work and School
Chuck rides his bike to work EVERYday. But once a year, the city of Tempe encourages everyone to do it ONE day. They give away free breakfast and t-shirts as incentives. Since we've had kids, they've always gone too, even though they aren't going to work or school. This year, C rode his own bike and H had to ride the alleycat since Christian had to be in his car seat to be in the trailor (once he can sit up on his own, we can get two kids in the trailor). This was Christian's first bike ride and H's first ride on the alleycat. As you can see, she isn't big enough to actually ride it and she looks scared to death, but she did it, much to my surprise.
Friday, April 23, 2010
A Blast From the Past: Captured in a Dream
Lily has her Senior Prom next week. Which made me think back to mine, 15 years ago! I can't believe I graduated 15 years ago. I looked so young back then. Our theme was "Captured in a Dream". I went with Landon House, who was just a friend. I actually had a dream about Landon a few nights ago. How random is that? I was subbing a yoga class and there he was. I wonder what he is doing. I'm sure I could find out if I was on facebook. But I'm not. Anyway...prom was fun. And although I didn't appreciate it at the time, high school was a pretty fun too!
I showed my dad this picture and he had no recollection of driving us at all. And that was even post cardiac arrest.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Sleepless in Tempe
Oh, what I would give for a full night sleep or even a nap! I'm exhausted! Chuck and I barely survived Cameron from birth to 9 months. I was exhausted all the time. But it got better. Hannah was such a good baby and although I don't remember it, I must have had her and Cameron napping at the same time so I could rest because I don't remember being this tired with her. And even though, Christian is a relatively good sleeper, I'm so tired all the time! Chuck is great though! If I just can't stay up with Christian anymore to get him settled, Chuck will get up (of course, he'll just sleep on him on the couch with him, something I don't want to do) and he will (when he's not booked with meetings) take the kids away from the house on Sunday afternoons so I can nap. A couple nights ago, rather than sit on the couch from 8-9pm, I started getting ready for bed. Chuck looked at his watch and said, "It's only 8 o'clock." And I said, yes, but you have no idea how tired I am! (However, I don't seem to be the one falling asleep in church.) Last night, I was saying our evening prayers and I had to concentrate so hard on what I was saying because I was falling asleep. And often times, I fall asleep while Chuck reads the scriptures. It's 8:20 now, and I am going to go to bed!
Christian is 3 months!
Really? Seriously? Can Christian already be 3 months? This kid is so gorgeous but growing too fast! He is awake a lot of the time now. He has a smile to die for and I love to hear him babble. Although he is happy to be on the floor at times, he does love to be held. And he gets really mad if you aren't holding him when he wants to be. He is still getting up twice at night, usually between 1-2am and 4-5am. He is still in our room in the cradle (as you can see below he is busting out of it) but he will be moving to the crib soon. Sometimes he has a hard time settling down during the night after eating, so I started putting him on his stomach to see if that would help and it does (don't tell the pediatrician). He spits up a lot and he sure can fart!
But he is a gem!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Babies, Babies, Babies
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Happy Easter
For Easter this year, we headed to Farmington to see the family, most importantly, the newest member of the family, Sarah. Cree, Courtney and kids were also passing thru town, so we got to see them briefly. C and H were great on the drive there and pretty good on the way home. Christian was just perfect both ways! C and H got to do their first sleepover at their Aunt Camera's (sorry, no pictures of that). One night she took my 2 and Jonathan's 3. The kids had a lot of fun spending time with their cousins.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)