The Nitty Gritty

Happy 6th Birthday Son! William turned 6 yesterday! On his birthday eve, we were cuddling on his bed and I told him his birth story. It felt like it all happened yesterday as I recounted the details of how he came to our family. Towards the end, our conversation turned into literally HOW he came and he thought it was funny when I said, "birth canal".  It's crazy how fast Will is growing and learning. Last week I was feeling pretty blue about having a demanding full-time job. It was tearing my heart thinking about how much I missed being a stay at home mom. I attended the Saturday Women's Meeting and left feeling inspired, but also guilty and questioning myself if going to work everyday is truly the best thing for me and my family. Then, on Sunday we learned of a family in our ward that was being evicted and the mom was checking into a hotel and waiting for an interview at Fry's Grocery. It was devastating news, but it was news that was necessary for me...

I love you March. Thank you for being awesome. 

I love this little guy of mine. Every time I drop off William and Van at preschool and hug them goodbye, I walk to the car with a big lump in my throat. It's tough leaving my boys in the hands of someone else everyday-- I can't say enough what a relief it is to leave them in GOOD hands.  Yesterday as I was preparing dinner and William was drawing at the table, I asked him, "So do you like preschool?" He answered with a shrug,"Ya, but I don't like the naps." Then I questioned, "Do you wish you were home with mom during the day?" Just to check in and make sure he's happy with his school day and for my own reassurance that I'm number one:). His eyes welled up and he said fighting back the tears, "I miss you mom." Then we both kind of cried and he followed up with "but I like to play with my friends. Can I like both?" I responded with a resounding "YES!"  I want to remember that moment forever. It was a reminde...

October is my favorite month! It's my birthday month, I love the fall season, the weather, the beauty, yummy soups, and Halloween.  Will and Van love this month too. Luckily, we got a whole week off together to enjoy our favorite time of year. Here are some things we did during our fall break: The first thing we did was bake pumpkin chocolate chips to enjoy during the week. Van is my big helper. He loves to say "I help you mom!" We took lots of walks around the block. The boys love the Halloween decor and wanted a picture next to this front door with the "Big Spider!" I took the boys to the doctor for their yearly check up. Van brought his stethoscope to show the doctor. Van was brave while the doctor made sure all his parts work.  William was so happy that it was not the year for a shot! We went swimming at Kasia's, our friend's, house. We mostly swam around in the hot tub because the ...

Can they get any cuter? Well, I've finished my first full week of teaching. I feel like a first year teacher again-planning what I am going to teach the next day the night before, overwhelmed, can't get ahead--the feeling of drowning and never being able to reach the surface.  Hopefully it won't take too long to get my bearings and feel prepared and organized. The good thing is my class is ADORABLE and they love to learn! When I gave them their first homework packet, I was expecting them to whine. Instead they cheered. Whenever I announce things like "Time to stop reading" or "Math time is over" they sigh and ask, "Can we read longer?" or "Can we do more math?" Isn't that so cute and hilarious??! I feel like I'm living the scene in the movie Better Off Dead when the students are overly excited about doing math. The boys finished their second week of preschool. Van absolutely loves it. He calls it "kree-schoo...

I was lucky to have to wear this red polo everyday. Sure saved me the headache of trying to figure out what to wear!      This Wednesday will be my last day working in the After School program at Nibley Park. I am so sad about leaving this job. It has been the perfect job for our family.  I am so thankful that Isaac was looking out for me two years ago and found this job.  My favorite memories of working at Nibley Park, are not just working with the students, but of how well everyone there treated my sons. They never treated them like a burden or talked down to them. They always welcomed them with big smiles, high fives, and comments like, "Hey buddy!" The other After School employees always smile and say, "They're so cute!" when we walk in. Josh Vineyard, the After School Director, aka my boss, has been so wonderful to the boys. Everyday we come in, he has his ipad or iphone all set up and ready for William to play Angry Birds. He would offer Wil...

I'm finally figuring out how to copy my Instagram pictures to my bloggin schplog!   I had to post this one of Van wearing underwear. He's doing so well with using his froggy potty this week. He kept his underwear dry all day today and whenever he has to go potty he uses this phrase, "Mom, I fart!" As you can see he is holding Jessie in the photo. Jessie and Cat in the Hat sometimes watch Van go pee pee on the potty to see what a big boy he is. Yesterday, I bought him a new pack of Toy Story underwear. He was so excited!! I'm so proud of my little Vanners! This week we checked out a book at the library called, How Dinosaurs Say I love You by Jane Yolen. Every time I read it, I think of Van. It's true that one minute I want to rip my hair out with Van's irrational behavior and then the next minute, he'll do something so sweet like hold out his tiny chubby hand and say ,"C'mon Mom. I wanna hold your finger." and just sweep me of...