Blog Worthy

Sorry about not blogging on Thursday but this week I have had something every night almost.

Monday we had FHE. Which for us right now means reading a chapter from Dave Ramsey's book Financial Peace.

Tuesday I had pack meeting, which I always really enjoy. I love watching the boys get awards, and do some crazy stuff, but mostly enjoying because I don't really have to do much.

Wednesday my Visiting Teachers came over. It was so wonderful to visit. I really love to talk and my VT are great for visiting with. They had a great lesson on temple covenants. It reminded me how important those covenants are and how much they have done for me in my life.

Thursday I had a stake scout training. It was AWESOME. It was everything I wish I had known 2 years ago when I was called. They had one guy talk about how to plan a den meeting. Which you would think I would have down pat, but he had a great idea about how to use your den chief. I had always used mine like another adult and it usually was just a lot of hassle, but he said use them for record keeping. Okay that was BRILLIANT. I am a horrible record, and attendance keeper. How hard would it have been to have him do that, ummm NOT hard at all. Plus it would have been a big help, he would have had a responsibility, and then when it was all done he would still have time to teach boys how to do stuff. Oh my I wish I had thought of that. I could have saved myself a ton of paperwork. Anyway, the next guy talked about training, which is also not a strong point. Believe it or not I am still not technically trained, but I have done some, and started some more and every time I do more, I am like 'why did I wait so long, this really has good ideas.' So, do your training. That guy also showed us how to navigate around the scout website which is like the  most unuser friendly site ever. Anyway, he did a great job. However, my favorite trainer was the last one who only had about ten min. She helped tie together scouting and church. She was passionate about scouts, but not the crazy weird kind the good kind. Her idea was called "Training Plus." She said that training was important but so was PLUS. PLUS stands for Planning, Love, Understanding, and Study. She talked about the importance of planning for what could go wrong at a den meeting. To think through how will a boy hurt themselves, what should I do for transitions, and for gathering. How do I keep the boys engaged, when will it be hard and what can I do to help it? Love she talked about the importance of loving the boys. I know that this has made all the difference for me. When I started to truly try to love my boys, call them my boys, think about who they were and what they could be, scouting became more of an opportunity to  serve and love and less of a chore or burden. Love is very key. Understanding- it is important to understand your boys, who they are, problems they have, interests, family, what they want to do, etc. Understand who your boys are and then it will be easier to serve. Finally, the biggest epiphany to me study. She recommended using the monthly value as your topic for scripture study that month. She said study scriptures, talks, stories, and lessons about the topic, immerse yourself in the value. If you do this, then the value will naturally come out in your activities and lesson because it is what you think about day after day. How easy is that to have a topic to study by and live by, and then have it almost teach the boys for you. Brilliant I tell you BRILLIANT. Her other idea that I thought was amazing, and I got this when I talked to her after the meeting, was to have an emergency box. This box has stuff like straws, ping-pong balls, feathers, etc. and you use it when something unexpected happens and you need the boys engaged in something while you solve the problem. I know this would have saved my bacon a few times in scouts. Sorry for the long blub on this but I thought it was a really good training and I really wanted to write it down before I forgot it. I love scouts and so I just want to do my best. Also, if you ever get the chance to volunteer with scouts do it, and love the boys and you will learn a lot.

Friday, was pretty uneventful. I finished my book Charlie Bone at Midnight.  It was really good. Gaupo was very patient to let me finish it. Then we planned out what needs to be done in our yard, and made plans for Saturday and went to bed. Oh yeah, we had grilled pizza for dinner, it was good but not the best we have tried it 3 times and I don't know that we will try it again. We can't seem to get it how we want it.

Saturday, we went to the temple. With left Little One with the Other Merrill Family and went and did a session in Denver. It was so nice to not have to worry about getting back in time to feed Little One. The temple was so rich and full of peace. I love that place and I am so glad we got to go. Little One had a good time with the Other Merrill's. She had tons of fun and was tuckered out by the time she got home, but luckily she was so excited to see us again too. Once we got home, I started working on Guapo's feast. It took all day, but it turned out good. Tell you more about B-day's in the next post.   

Just a Little Crazy

A lot has been happening and most of it joyful, but by far the biggest adventure of this past week has been our trip to Idaho. Guapo's sister was blessing her baby on Sunday (4/14/2013), and they let us know about two weeks in advance. At first, I was like, no way we wont be able to go. We can't because we have no vacation time, it is expensive, and it is rough to make quick trips. Well as always, I thought about it more and more. Then finally I said to Gaupo, we should go. I can't think of a reason why not. We can leave on Friday as soon as you get off, spend all day at your parents house, and then go to the blessing and come home on Sunday. His reply was, yeah that would be fun. So, we began planning. We called up Heidi and made a reservation to come, and then we debated whether or not to tell Grandma. Guapo was all for not telling her, but finally he came around, and when we Skype with them on Tuesday Guapo told her. She was thrilled. So, plan were made and then it was time to act.

Friday came, and we took off about one. It worked out good because in the morning Little One and I were able to walk around by dropping off a b-day card, and returning dishes. Then we went to the park. I really wanted to get some wiggles out before we left. We played there awhile and Little One had a blast going down slides, and crawling everywhere. Finally, I need to go the grocery store so we walked from the park to there and got the free kids cookies, and picked up the items we needed and headed home. It was really the best way to start a long drive. Once Guapo got off work, we had lunch and headed out. The drive was uneventful, that is a super good thing. However, we decided to actually stop and eat dinner (a real rarity for us). It was one of the best decisions. We stopped at Wendy's and Little One had a blast eating chicken nuggets, and apples. She got to sit right up to the table in a high chair and thought it was so great. After dinner, we traveled some more. Little One could not figure out how to fall asleep peacefully in the car, so for about 2 hours she was crying/whining. She did finally give up but that was only about 45 min. away from Gaupo's house. Once we got there, about 10:45PM, we got Little One all settled in and talked to Grandma. She was so excited to see us, and the same was true for us so we had a lot to talk about. After ooooing and ahhing over her new kitchen and catching up on the important stuff it was off to bed (about 11:30 or 12:00).

Saturday started by sleeping in. Gaupo slept till about 6:45, I until 7, and Little One 8. Yeah she beat us all. After Little One woke up, she played and talked and then sat down for breakfast. She had her first egg cooked in bacon grease with cheese. She totally thought that was GREAT! Then she had french toast (maybe also a first), a bite of bacon (she did not like), and juice (also a no go). Overall, she thought it was great. Later we went on a walk, and met Grandpa, and fell asleep in the stroller. She played with blocks, cars, buses, and even got her first four-wheeler ride. The 4-wheeler ride was great. Of course, she was with Dad so that made her feel perfectly safe. Probably her favorite toy was the car walker thing. She would just walk laps with that thing.

Little One took a super long nap, but we were still able to go visit Grandma and Grandpa Great for a little bit. It was a really short visit, but oh it was wonder. I love the two people and hadn't seen them in so long. Oh sooooo good to see them. Little One did really good, for the most part. We headed back to Swan Lake and had dinner of sweet and sour chicken. Little One loved the rice with corn. During dinner the power went out, but luckily the water at the house can run on gravity so Little One got a bath, and then we left her with Grandma to go to sleep while we went to chase deer. We chased a couple, but the ground was really rough and it was cold, so we took out time getting back and enjoyed each other and the scenery. When we got back, Little One was calm, but still wouldn't let Grandma hold her. We got her put to bed, and then sat and talked with everyone. Then showers commenced and it was off to bed.

Sunday started too early. I woke up at 5:20 to make sure I could be out the door by 7:00. We made it but it was close. We drove the two hours to Rexburg, and then waited at the church for everyone to show up. Little One loved waiting because we both walked around the church with her, she got to look over the benches, and didn't have to sit still. Consequently, Sacrament meeting was really rough. She was throwing fits all over the place. However, Guapo was able to participate in the blessing and it was fun to stay and go to church. After the remaining meeting, we went to Heidi and Jeff's apartment for lunch. We had sandwiches, salad, fruit, dessert, and talk. Sadly we had to rush, but it was so good to see the Rexburg folk and enjoy family. We left at 2:00PM to head  back home. Oh my was it a long drive. It seemed like it took F-O-R-E-V-E-R. However, we made it even if it was about 11:00. Little One even did pretty good with only being able to get out one time to get a diaper change. Yep, our daughter is super traveler. In reality, she is a superstar most of the time.

That is most of the news from here. Little One did take a few steps on her own today, but they required strong encouragement and lots of praise. She is still eating pretty good, some days of course are better than others but I really can't complain. Sorry I don't have more pictures, but I was too busy playing. I really wish I had the one of Little One and her Dad on the 4-wheeler, but oh well I will have to wait. Anyway, thanks for reading the long post.

Naps and Other Baby Stuff

I love being a Mom, but it is honestly one of the most confusing things I have ever done. It is so confusing because it is never the same. My most recent trying-to-figure-out thing is naps. Little One wants one in the morning and sleeps for like 2 hours, which is awesome, but then she wont take an afternoon nap until like 4 which is bad. So, we end up with a cranky baby at the end of the day when this Mom is cranky, and when Dad is trying to relax. Well I thought that should be easy to fix, we will just do one nap and move it to the afternoon. It works great in the afternoon. I get what I need to done, she is happy in the afternoon, and she is ready to go to bed on time. It is great every time except the morning. OH MY WORD. She is so grouchy sometimes. I am hoping that it wears off as she become more accustom to only one nap. However, I am only giving it like two maybe three days after this weekend, and if it doesn't improve I don't know what I will try, but probably going back to whatever will work.

Somethings that I have tried that have worked reasonably well are...

• Babysitting a 6 monthish baby boy. It kept me distracted from Little One's crying and gave us something to play with instead of worrying about being tired. However, I learned Little One does not like to share this Mama very much. Every time I would hold Jensen she would see that he was in my lap and start crying and trying to climb into my lap. If I set him on the floor and her on the floor too, it was all good, but when I picked him up, Little One did not like having my attention diverted. This development should make life interested when child 2 comes (whenever that will be).
• Going for a run about nap time. This morning I couldn't handle it anymore, so we bundled up and went for a run. She probably wouldn't have ended up falling asleep, but the run was kind of long because I was talking on the phone to Gaupo's mom which means I was walking. Then Little One dropped her chew toys, so we had to go find those, and then finish the run. By the end she had probably had a little power nap, but you know what it worked because I wasn't waking her up from a nap nap, just one where she had fallen asleep on accident.
• Go outside and wait for dad. For Little One this almost always works. She loves being outside. She likes playing with her outside toys, climbing on the steps, going off the steps, seeing exactly how far she can reach, playing in the grass, and just enjoying being outside. So, we went outside and waited for dad to come home. We were having a glorious time outside and what do you know Dad came home and we went inside, and Little One was an angel. I don't know what I do different, but she is way better for him recently than for me. Oh well, I work on figuring that out too.

It is true that being a Mom is the most frustrating thing I have ever done but it is also one of the best things I have ever done. I don't know of anything else greater than getting my little girl to laugh because she thinks I am silly. Or having spontaneous dance parties to the demo music on our piano. Or when you can even after a super long day, want to hold on to and love something that made you almost lose it. Seriously, at the end of everyday when I get to rock her to sleep, it is the best. I sing her songs, and she cuddles close and she makes me so happy and so full of love. I remember when I was first a mom and I didn't know if I could love my baby and Jason, because I already loved Jason more than I could think, but that is the crazy thing about love it grows, and now I both love them more than when I was thinking about whether or not there would be enough. Okay, rambling sorry. I get the reward of watching her learn new things, that is a great reward. There is also the reward of having someone call me Mom. Someone who when asked, "Where is Mommy?" knows exactly where I am. Yep my kid rocks. I love being a mom even though it is frustrating. But, then again I think that is what I love the very most--frustration and then the rewards and love. That package makes Motherhood, one of the best things ever.

Sorry for the rambling, but thanks for reading. Here are some pics of this cute girl.

First Oreo. This picture does not do this mess justice. She had re fried bean before and it was everywhere, in her hair , ears, nose, everywhere.

Jensen and Little One. Both very upset in  this picture. You can't really tell, but they are. Oh well, that is what happens when babies feed of of each other.

Showing how super flexible she is by sucking on her shoes. Gross.

Swinging, we love going to the park.

My first Angel Food cake. It was delicious.

The amount of snow that got us our first snow day. Pitiful, but I will take the snow day.

Easter

I love Easter. It is one of my favorite holiday's because it seems like it is all about family, and all about doing stuff together. This was our first year doing Easter kind of for real. We started by having an Easter picnic. It was not near as grand as the Bryce one's we had when I was growing up, but it was still fun. We cooked a turkey because that is what we had (I know ham is what your suppose to have, but we were already way over on our food budget for the month). I also had us cook it on Saturday because it makes such a big mess which is way easier to clean up on Saturday. Anyway we had the yummy turkey, bread, fish crackers, and Powerade, and Little One had a P.B. sandwich because she wont eat turkey. I was pleasantly surprise that Little One ate until she was full, and then proceeded to crawl around and get into things. It was really fun to have a picnic together even if it was short and on the back deck. Oh well, outside with yummy food and excellent can it get any better I would have to say, No.

Me and Little One chill'in on the 'Ants' quilt.

Our beautiful lunch and our beautiful daughter.

Gaupo looking at me like 'Why are taking my picture?'

The next Easter tradition that we wanted to start was an egg hunt. So, eggs were hidden, as much as you can hide eggs for a one year old. Then when Little One got up in the morning I fed her and she dinked around on the couch like she usually does and then Gaupo said 'Okay, tell Mommy to let you down.' So, I did and I tell you we have a natural. She noticed the blue egg under the love seat and took off. She picked up and then noticed there were more so she kept going. Once she had about six eggs in the middle of the floor she got distracted with them, so we put them in her hat (we didn't have a basket) and she proceeded to look for more. She did really well and only need a help with a few. She even noticed the one on the fridge and looked at Gaupo for help when she saw it. It was funny to watch her sprawl out on the floor to get the ones underneath things, or to reach as far as she could to get the high ones. It was so fun. All her efforts produced her this bounteous loot.

Emptying them all on the floor.

Our other festivities included going to church, eating a feast of mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, salad, jello, and dessert. It also included a good Easter discussion that evening between Gaupo and I. Overall it was a really fun day enjoying each other.

Well hope your Easter was fun too.