Caught in the act...

We are having such a good time here at my parents. We have gone out just Larry and I without Max a couple nights and let me tell you, I forgot what I was missing! Also its been fun to go on night walks with my mom and to spend some time with my brothers. Larry starts his job on Monday and we are soaking up every minute of this. I keep thinking things are so good something bad is going to happen...does that happen to you? We just keep praying things will all work out and hope that Larry's grades come back and we can continue to have a little less stress in our lives, for now we are trying to be blissfully happy.

Note to self: Don't forget the good days.

This quote from Sister Hinckley explains my day.

"Think about your particular assignment at this time in your life. It may be to get an education, it may be to rear children, it may be to be a grandparent, it may be to care for an relieve the suffering of someone you love, it may be to do a job in the most excellent way possible, it may be to support someone who has a difficult assignment of their own. Our assignments are varied and they change from time to time. Don't take them lightly. Give them your full heart and energy. Do them with enthusiasm. Do whatever you have to do this week with your whole heart and soul. To do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling."
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Today was one of those dream days. Max slept great, ate great and was overall so happy and content all day long. We played outside in the sun, ate lunch together, played some more. He took both his naps and during that time I prepared dinner, cleaned, did some vacuuming and laundry. Larry and I ran a few short errands and Max played some more in the evening. I loved being his mom today. Everyday I am really grateful I get to stay home with him and put my whole heart into taking care of him. Tonight while I was cooking dinner he was crawling around the kitchen opening drawers, taking magnets off the fridge and shrieking and talking up a storm to me. I love the tug of his hands on my legs as he tries to crawl up me and when I pick him up and he lays a big sloppy kiss on me. Today I gave it my all to my particular assignment in life and it was such a great day I needed to document it!

One year Older...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY AMAZING HUSBAND

THE BIG 28.

Happy Birthday larbear. You are so awesome. I am glad you are so much older then me, it makes me feel like a true baby wife. Thanks for being such a compassionate forgiving husband who loves to kiss me and grab my butt in public. Thanks for being the best dad Max could ever ask for, I think some other babies in heaven are hoping they get you as a dad too. Happy Birthday my love, I hope they just keep getting better and better!





{John and Larry holding Max and cousin AJ Martin...and Max really enjoying the cake I made. We went to a movie and lunch baby free and had the Martins over for cake and ice cream tonight...so fun did I mention I LOVE living near them? }

We come full circle.

4 years ago Larry and I lived in El Dorado Hills, now we are back! So the move went smooth-ish. My brothers helped me out and we moved some on Friday and Saturday. It was pretty stressful for me doing this alone without a husband. Looking back I needed to chill out and just let it happen and not rush it all but I just wanted to stuff everything in our storage unit and go...get out of San Diego leave that awful apartment and the awful lonely year of school behind.

Now that we are here unpacked and settled in I feel like I can breath. Larry and I have made a packed to not talk about law school for awhile and try to just enjoy our summer together, and fall back in love. Remember that feeling? {haha} not always stressing and actually enjoying being together WITHOUT a baby always around? I was pretty resentful and bitter trying to move everything while he studied for his finals and took them, sometimes I can be selfish I'm not perfect but I am trying to be better.

Because our move was so crazy and right during the Easter Holiday we barley had time to celebrate, in fact we didn't even have ham for dinner haha we had tri-tip and no Easter egg baskets. It is okay because that is not the reason for the season and I really want to express that to my children as they grow up. My mom did have baskets all around her house with eggs in it that Max has had a great time dumping out and throwing everywhere.

I am grateful for the Easter Season and the fact that I know Christ has risen, and so will I because of him. It is a wonderful thing to be a member of the true church and to get to go to church not only on Easter but every Sunday. I leave you with some funny pictures of Max.

Happy Easter Sunday!

Family Visit:

My family is in TOWN!! My parents and two of my brothers are in town for the week {Tom would be here too but he is on vacation in the Philippines} and it has been non-stop fun. Larry has been studying a ton but has squeezed in some play time as well. My parents main reason really was to come help us move and it's their spring break so it's hopefully been a fun time for them. We spent all day at the San Diego zoo. I was amazed how Max took both his naps in the stroller. It was a miracle day of no melt downs and lots of animal sight seeing. It was beautiful weather with overcast skies and cool breezes, really perfect zoo weather. We saw some turtles mating and some polar bears pooping. Larry was bummed because he was at the school all day studying but we took him to dinner to make up for it. It was fun to be there with my family and show them around.

Today we went to the USS Midway. It is an old aircraft carrier docked here in San Diego and is a permeate museum. We spent all afternoon roaming the decks the airplanes and all the insides of this huge ship. It was really cool and brought back memories of when I was little and we went a vacation and went on a aircraft carrier that was still in use. It was cool to think my Grandparents were on ships like this. I have 3 grandparents that are WWII vets and it is amazing to see it up close. We also walked around Sea Port Village and showed them downtown.


We also hit up the Mormon Battalion. We had never visited it and it was so COOL. Seriously we have been to a lot of church history sites and this by far was the coolest. It is really interactive and hands on and at the end the take this cool picture of you. They email it and print it out, its so fun. It was fun to mingle with all the sisters and pan for gold at the end of the tour. Anyone that comes to San Diego really needs to come here. We also went up and walked around the temple in the evening before going to dinner. Tomorrow will be moving, and some more sight seeing. I LOVE being with my family and am so happy we are moving up on Saturday to spend all summer with them. I feel so blessed and lucky right now!

This day in history:

4 years ago today I got engaged. Holy cow. Wasn't I just 20 and a newlywed getting a taste of finally living with a male who wasn't my brothers? Time flies....sorta. Over the last 4 years we have had some rough times and some really great times...that's life I suppose. I look back on those times with bitter sweet memories. The time around our engagement and wedding wasn't met with excitement from all parties and to tell the truth I just wanted to get it all over with so that the drama surrounding it would pass.

There was a lot of tears and hurtful comments so I sometimes look back on those few short months with bitterness and resentment. All those memories fade though when I remember being alone with Larry in the Oakland temple knowing it didn't matter what people thought or said because we knew for certain we were making a righteous decision and we would be blessed...and blessed we have been: Law school, nursing school, baby max, living in Utah, Virginia & California...really its been non-stop for us and things just keep on changing.
But how cute were we? seriously I was like 19 in these pictures, time flies.

Now onto MAX of course!!.....
Today also is the 10 month marker for fat baby {I guess toddler} Max! That little boy is 100% boy. He loves to demolish everything that is in his path and knows how to use those lungs. He loves to wrestle with his dad and shrieks with delight when he is around. Seriously the second Max wakes up he is looking for his dad. He crawls and stands and "walks" along things and will stand for a couple of seconds before sitting down or falling down. He loves to eat everything and has 6 teeth. He is wiggly and never sits still. He has gotten 2 hair cuts and probably needs another one right now. I love his fat squishy thunder thighs and his bright baby blue eyes and long lashes and the way he squishes his face when he is fussing.

He loves when I line up all his little toys on the TV table and one by one he knocks them down. He loves to play peek a boo, getting sung to, and any cord that is laying around is his for the taking.He is also pretty smart. If I hide something like my phone or the remote he usually will go and find it when I am not looking and the second the bathroom door is open he b-lines it to the tub and yells until I put him in it. I love him and I am so happy he is my fat Max. Happy 10 months toddler boy! You are my favorite.

Hard Days.

Today was a hard day. Every time Max went down for a nap so did I. I laid in our totally white bed watching House reruns feeling sad about my life. This happens to me every now and again. I get down in the dumps and it rubs off on family life, I have a hard time functioning and the last thing I want to do is get up and be a mom or wife. I think I have a valid point on why I am sad, and Larry agreed that I could be sad all week. Last year at this time I was finishing up school and giving up my second year spot in my nursing program so Larry could start law school. This week all my friends are finishing and I am feeling sad because I wanted to be with them. I look back at the last 10 months feeling like I haven't acomplished much and they have. Yes I have a nursing license, and it really doesn't matter because I am not working and I probably won't ever but I'm still feeling all these emotions this week.

Also Max bit me twice today, alas I have a biter on my hands and I am very perplexed on how to handle it because when he bites I say NO very loud, give him a finger wagging, and a stern look but the boy just stairs up at me with those big blue eyes and laughs. What should I do??

After picking Larry up from a late and long day I ate a bunch of ice cream in bed, and really that didn't fix my hard day or anything I am feeling but it tasted good and that is a start. I hope tomorrow is better. I need to be productive and stop wallowing!

Inspiration

"Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows." - President Thomas S. Monson

I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Only one week left and Larry will be done with his first year of law school. I can do this! He can do this! My family is coming to visit tomorrow and John will get to finally meet Max. They share a common trait of beautiful bright blue eyes and I am so happy to be together with my family again.

Fab Friday.

April 15, big things are happening!

1. Happy Birthday to my Brother JOHN! Happy 22 little brother...wow your old and your home from your mission, and I get to see you in 3 days I am so excited!!



2. Harry Potter Part 1 of the Deathly Hallows is coming out on DVD. So awesome, just because we can watch it over and over and get ready for the last movie in July! and I can watch it with John who hasn't seen it because he was on his mission in Japan.

I hate money.

I do, I really do.
And I could scream it at the top of my lungs. Why is it that it goes so fast and that its always on things you don't want to spend it on. Like a storage unit? Or a cleaning deposit an apartment that I already constantly clean. Or gas and food. Sometimes at the end of the day I am like okay I bought gas and paid one bill, I hope we can eat. AHH it is so frustrating.

I have been discouraged lately about money, jobs, and just life in general. How is it that it seems like you always need two incomes to get the normal things in life: car, house, food, clothes. And that even though you have education, and your husband is getting a great education you pray at the end of the day he will actual get a job, because news flash you have BIG bills to pay in order to get that education to get the great job and the good paycheck...

Overload right? It is what I think constantly...what is the point of it all? We have worked so hard and still have a long haul to go, but in the end are we going to be able to pay those bills and have me still be at home raising our children. And is there going to be children or just child because that adds to the expenses too!

I know I know we will be blessed for making these sacrifices but will we be happy? I am afraid that we will stretch ourselves so thin having me stay at home being a mom that in the end there will be no happiness in our home, just stress about money and our life choices. So I leave you with theses thoughts because my brain might explode.

We love...

Larry and I have started watching Biggest Loser this season, and we know we have jumped on the bandwagon a bit late but we are loving this show. Its our Tuesday night treat tuning in and eating some ice cream as we watch these people work their butts off to loose weight. It is highly inspirational and you get attached to the people. I have ones I like and ones I don't like and I cheer when they get to stay and when they get voted off...is that mean? Larry says I get to wrapped up in it but it gets intense during the weight ins! We also love the Mormon represntation this season. There was 6 Mormon players and we have been rooting for them...the represent proudly!

Not watching...you should start? These people have lost serious weight...like more then I weighed when I was pregnant wowza! I do feel guilty as I sit on my couch and watch them work their butts off, but its okay because I am active and small....and I'm super paranoid and self-conscious so I don't think I will ever weight as much as they did...well I hope not. I do love the trainers thought and I would love to get a workout with them.

I love a random Tuesday night date with my husband!!

I feel like the little engine that could.

Yesterday and today have been long days. Larry has been putting in countless hours at the school studying for his finals, leaving me at home for 14 hours to take care of Max. These last 2 days I have learned somethings.

I can do HARD THINGS. I can! I have successfully moved almost everything from our apartment down into our garage and now after a long sweaty day over to our storage unit. I have juggled boxes, car rides, moving things all while entertaining Max and making sure his needs are met. I feel like wonder women a little bit, because I have done everything without Larry and am kinda like hurrah to me, I am women hear me roar...kinda thing :)

I have also learned I love Max more then ever. Seriously he has been a champ crawling over boxes, suitcases and letting me cart him around everywhere and constantly take things away from him he shouldn't have. Yesterday while packing the bathroom I stuck him in the tub and he was loving being able to take a bath in the middle of the day for no reason! Also yesterday I took him on a lunch date at subway and he really is so funny. He sat in the highchair bouncing up and down to the music eating his chips and bread and loving being out of our house and his car seat!

The last thing I have learned is that I don't know how many times more we will move but I am hoping its not to many more times, because I might die! If I have to pack another box I might cry, but It will all be worth it if Larry loves his job this summer and we can actually see each other again not in passing. I think if we can just get over the hurdle of this week we will make it out of this first year of law school alive and happy! My family is coming next week to hang out and then we are outta San Diego for awhile!

And I will leave you with me and my bud.

My helper Max

Max likes to help me pack...a little too much. It takes me an hour to pack one box. I think I was faster at packing when I was huge and pregnant.

It is Saturday and Larry is studying, aren't we lucky? I have been packing a box, taking it down stairs into our garage, and then slowly driving things over to the storage unit so when we actual move we only have the furniture to move because the day we move out is the last day Larry has a final...convenient right, or maybe just crazy?

I am trying hard not to be resentful of Larry because he can't help out, and lets be honest he would help if he could. I am so grateful he is studying so hard to make our lives better and to have it be possible for me to stay home and raise my fat max. I forget how good I have it sometimes.

A Day In The Life:

It has been a long week. One of those weeks where you wish maybe you need another person around you at all times while your baby screams all day and your husband is gone at all hours of the day...maybe something like a sister wife?

One of those weeks when all you want to eat is chocolate. I walk around my tiny kitchen talking to myself...where is the chocolate!! Then I remember I don't buy it because of moments like that and I curse myself and think hard about walking across the street holding my baby because we don't have the car so I can get my fix.

Yeah its been a long week full of long doctors appointments for fat max rashy bum that got infected and I broke down and took him in after a long day of crying while I was trying to pack as well...because ya know we are moving in like 2 weeks and Larry can't help because he is melting his brain studying non-stop so it's up to me.

Call me super mom/wife maybe? Probably not I have been crying a lot this week as I pack alone and am missing the help of a husband that can swoop up a fussy max and let me go to bed early. Oh well such is life and it will get better. If I want to have more babies I need to learn to juggle and roll with the punches.

I will take a deep breath and feel some peace when Larry is done with his finals and we are living at my parents. Can I tell you how excited I am, because if I need to run to the store I don't always have to take Max because someone will be around to watch him. Amazing right? Larry and I can go on a date sans Max...that is amazing!

Now I am off to plan my sharing time and hoping Max won't wake up so I can work..did I mention I have also vacuumed the floor twice already today!

The other night

My husband says the weirdest things sometimes.

Larry - "I want to be George Washington for Halloween, you can be Martha and Max can be the American flag or the constitution...what do you think?"

I couldn't stop laughing.

And he made fun of me for thinking he could be Harry, I could be Hermione and Max could be Dobby...really Larry!

It's a slow news week around here.

Nothing really big is happening with us at the moment really. I have been re-blogging my entire 2009 life before I forget everything and I want to make this into a book because really it is our my only journal. Just another thing I need to add to the list of things I need to do better I guess.

Recently Max has been standing up on his own and he looks around for someone to clap and congratulate him on his newest trick. He is also dealing with an awful diaper rash right now and I can't figure out why he has it...he has never gotten one so this is a first. Today has been a long day of crying from him and my ears are starting to ring.

I have packed only one box today and then gave up. I took Max out for a lunch date at subway and we sat there eating our sandwiches and crackers for him. He loves to be out and about and see people and get people to talk to him. He is a charmer. These little old ladies were there and they were loving up Max.

Larry is studying away his finals start in about a week which means he is going about 15 hours of studying a day, its a bit overwhelming I am sure. He has a lot of pressure on him to keep his scholarship, I hope he can pull through.


I leave you with a funny picture. This is how we are keeping Max out of the kitchen these days. He wants in there so bad he gets mad when we block it off...so many things he can get into.

We had a fabulous weekend...how about you?

We had a great weekend of doing a whole lot of nothing. Actually Max didn't leave the house the entire time, that lazy baby. We watched conference all weekend and it was really amazing. I don't know if that sounds dorky or lame but it was a spiritual boost that was greatly needed around here.

I especially was touched by Elder Cook's address to mothers and women of the church and Richard G. Scott's talk about his sweet wife and their relationship. I also really loved at the end of the last session when Jeffery R. Holland talked about president Monson. I loved just hanging out listening to amazing men and women talk and being with my max and Larry. Each time we have conference it strengthens my testimony and assures me that I know the church is true.

The sad thing about moving out of Utah and not having BYU channel means we have to hook up Larry's computer to our TV and watch it that way, making me miss my favorite parts of the entire weekend all the interesting things that the church puts on between the sessions. Luckily the world report was on and Mormon messages so we were able to see that. I love the world report it talks about the good things members our doing and I love seeing it all.

Here is whats for dinner tonight its a classic in our house.

Honey Mustard Chicken:

1/2 cup honey
3 tblsp spicy brown mustard
1 1/2 tblsp flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
2-4 chicken breasts

I cut the chicken breasts in half, salt & pepper them and brown the chicken on medium high heat. Once they are golden brown I pull them from the pan and set aside. In a bowl I wisk together the mustard, honey, four, and broth. Add to the skillet and bring to a boil. Once the sauce thickens add back the chicken and cover on low for about 10-15 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked. Serve over rice.

It's that time of the year...

when the world falls in love with conference! I am so excited for this weekend. To hang around and get some inspiration and pack my little heart out. We will be moving in 22 days and it is starting to really heat up around here making it impossible to want to stand in our tiny apartment for more then 2 seconds, so we are optimistic the weekend will cool off so we can listen to some sweet stories from president Monson and guess where the new temples will be announced!

What you don't do that?

Last night we blew the breaker in our apartment, sad thing is we have to call someone each time it happens so they can go fix it because the box is not in our place, reason #5122 we hate it here. We rolled around in the dark though for a while and surprisingly Max was just as wild in the dark as he his during the day, it makes me wonder what he does in his crib when we think he is "sleeping" reason # 6454 I love being a mom.

A face only a mother could love.

seriously what is that face he is making??