Lets Talk About My Life Overhere...

Alright so I once again back blogged...can you tell. Its a cool new thing Im doing because my life got a bit crazy this last week and I had wanted to once again post things but getting around to it was not possible...heck getting a shower was pretty impossible. I watched 8 kids last week while my sister-in-law went to Mexico for 6 days. Needless to say I survived hence the blogging. I learned a few things about having 8 children.

...getting up early to take a kid to seminary is not so fun

...getting a shower is a luxury 

...changing 3 babies diapers makes for one stinky trash can

...feeding 8 kids all at once can get a bit nuts 

...being a single mom to this tribe made me EXHAUSTED

...having a TV in the minivan makes all the difference in the world!!

...not enough diet coke in the world can make things right

...I can have 8 kids, but I'd feel like a drill sergeant. 

Overall my week went as good as can be expected. I was able to get everyone everywhere with all my helpers and was able to even get a few showers in during the week! I was so physically tiered from lifting 3 babies in and out of cars/car seats everyday as well as high chairs and just generally moving them around. I was SO grateful for my 2 little boys when we got home and it was quiet and I could address both their needs without feeling overwhelmed. I was pretty proud of myself for only crying once, at the end of the week and never yelling at any of the kids! Anyways I will get back to my normal program around here now that my gig with the 8 kids is over. Aren't you all excited?! 

6 Sweet Months.

Oh my Noah. You are the smiliest, sweetest, little chubby baby, and I am so in love with you. I am SO lucky to be this boys mom. He has added so much to our family, and I could never imagine my life without him.

 At 6 months Noah can: 

-Roll all over. Its how he gest around the house.

-Sit up for a good 10 minutes.

-Finally only gets up once for a 5 am feeding.

-Love his baby food especially pears. 

-Weights 20 pounds. 

-Will be bumped up to size 3 diapers.

-Wears 9-12 month clothes.

-Loves to suck on his toes.

-Screeches and babbles. 

-Is SO smiley. 

-Loves his brother and the attention that he gets from him. 

-Has his first tooth! His bottom left tooth broke recently. 

-Loves to take baths with his brother and is dangerously wiggly in the tub.

-Takes 3 naps a day and always cries forever before he falls asleep :) 

I love this little boy so much. I could never imagine being able to love another child other then Max, but man my heart has just grown and is SO full of love for them both. When things are good around our house they are REALLY good and It makes me want to sing from the roof tops and take on the world having like 10 more babies. But when they both are screaming and crying and Im fizzling I bite my tongue  BUT if all my babies could be as lovely and chubby as my Noah I say bring them on! 

Noah Dean you are so sweet and happy and I have LOVED these last 6 months. Really where has the time gone? I am happy to celebrate your half birthday and mug on your chubby checks and kiss the your neck as you scream in delight and kick your chubby legs because your so excited. 

Picture repeat of sweet Noah...but really how could you not want to look at that adorable face all day long? Here is a secret...he is even more adorable when he is sleeping because who doesn't love watching your precious babe sleep...especially when he was screaming for so long and then that peace that comes afterward! Heaven! 

Some Oldies...

Look at that sweet newborn. I stumbled across these few photos that I had never seen so I wanted to post them. I love newborns did you know that? And I love giving birth so looking at these is giving me the itch to do it again! Man he sure has changed in just 6 short months. It is so amazing...he is such a good, happy baby. 

I am dying over that little furrow...how cute is he. On that note here is the my favorite...I forgot how tiny he was. My heart just melts over these. Enjoy! 

Recently According To Instagram...

Life is pretty good around these parts lately. 

I'm loving these boys more and more everyday. 

"Your Out Of Control"

That is Max's new saying, I think he has heard that floating around the house one to many times. The first time I thought it was pretty funny, after that I really though oh man I need to watch what I say around his over eager developing mind.

This boy albeit stubborn, persistent and all things 2, really knows how to make his mom laugh. He is pure amazingness in his imagination and innocents. Really just wondering around after him as he plays can be quite the adventure. Listening to his chitter chatter about balls, dora, pooh bear, and his friends from nursery just reminds me how he is developing into his own little person with personality and opinions.

At 27 months Max can do almost anything by himself minus going potty. He can tell me or show me exactly what he wants. He knows what stories he likes and has his absolute favorite. I have read Jamberry every day for weeks at least 3 times a day...you do the math. He also loves Go Dog Go, and Goodnight moon, he has a lot of it memorized. He knows all his alphabet and what they letters say as well as his colors. We are working on numbers now.

He still loves to play ball and has found a new love of volleyball and soccer, but still throws a good spiral. He loves his new balance bike and being outside. He likes to run errands especially when he gets a treat or a new hot wheels car. He is 100% boy but loves his animals and taking them on walks with his stroller.

He is a sponge, and repeats what people say constantly. He loves his brother Noah and wants to help with everything from cooking to changing Noahs diapers. It takes me 10 times longer to do anything with his help, but I know I need to be patient while he is learning.

He really melts my heart and when he is happy, content and playful we have the best time together...check out the shots I got from our walk last night. I have no clue where he comes up with this stuff. I want to soak him up before something else changes.

It's changing....

Oh man it finally is cooling down here in California. It is almost the last week in September and the high was 84 yahoo! It has been over 90 for weeks and I was dying for some cooler weather. I can feel the verge of the changing season in my bones and I love it! Fall is my favorite season of all. It is SO beautiful in California during the fall. It is sunny still, the air is cool and crisp and while we don't get as much color as Utah, it still is sufficient for me to get my fix! 

I am looking forward to watching Max play outside for hours without getting sweaty, I am so excited to start baking again and to have the smell of pumpkin and cinnamon running through the house. Hmm I can image it now! I can't wait for halloween {I need costume ideas for the boys!} and the spirit of Thanksgiving. I pulled out my owls, burlap, and wicker wreaths. Oh I am one happy girl in the fall. 

My wardrobe is so much more vast with winter apparel {all those years in Utah} and I look better in jeans and long sleeves and boots. 

For some reason the smell of fall always makes me remember my senior year in High School getting ready for homecoming making our float {remember that Lauren/Jill?} It was such a run time anticipating college and the huge change. How funny to think one year later I was getting married. Anyways there is many reasons why I love fall, I think it would be a great season to have a baby. Who else is with me! So please dear weather let the heat be gone and the cool stay! 

Today I Decided My Kids Are Out To KILL Me...

Let me first start off with the statement that I deeply deeply love my children. Being a mother is my number one priority and I would never swap positions with anyone or do anything else in the world. I feel gratitude every day that I get to have these precious babies in my life.

However...

Today I realized that these kids are out to kill me! My stubborn two year old wants me gone so that he can run wild naked through the house swinging his baseball bat at anything and anyone. He wants to eat only candy all day along with Cheetos and bottles. He wants me to lose fingers as he bites me as I desperately pin him down to brush his teeth twice a day, and turn his head at any healthy or good food i display in cool ways for him. He has me pleading and beging to take just one bite and I feel like I am constantly say stop and no at him.

My chubby almost 6 months baby {sad} has me up in the night still... squawking and crying for food when no one should be awake! Every night I say a sweet prayer that tonight will be the night he sleeps a good long time! And every night and grumble as I kick the covers off to go get him, thinking I've been doing this for 6 months now!

I am so tired of being the only parent that is on the front lines battling with children. I know my sweet husband wants to be there but he can't and it leaves me feeling like I am the only one who is getting beat down by these little people!

The other night after a particularly long evening both kids were a sleep and I took a much needed shower. While I was showering it was the first piece and quiet I had had all day. I thought about how much I loved my kids but how fried I felt. I thought about how I had not exercised since the baby was born, or how my hair was falling out and the last time I had it done was before Noah was born. At that moment I knew these kids were getting the best of me.

I decided to turn a new leaf. I am dedicating more time to myself I need to get my hair done more often, I need to exercise and feel good about my body. I need to take deep breaths when Max refuses to eat and if he goes hungry I can't stress myself out about it. I need to let Noah cry it out so that I can regain some normal sleep patterns in my life. No wonder I feel so out of it I sleep so little and its often interrupted.

I need to feel like me again!

I so badly want to have more babies but I need to regain my body back and feel well rested for awhile. I need to tell myself these years and stages go by so fast and albeit very very hard times I will be sad when they are gone. I known I can find a balance and fight the terrible twos with better grace then I am doing now! I can't let the stubborn 2 year old win!

The one thing that saves me every night is when I sit down to read Max stories. We have a standard bedtime routine with bathing, brushing teeth, stories, prayers ect. Every night we lay on the big bed and read stories. Max snuggles up to me and listens and talks to me all about the stories while Noah rolls around at the bottom of the bed. Those evenings where everyone is happy and calm are so precious and those moments make me know this is the best job in the world. I know I am doing something right when Max folds his arms and says his prayers with me. They are such  sweet simple 2 word sometimes prayers but I know he is getting it and all the tantrums and battles throughout the day were worth it.

Another thing that saves me is going in right before I go to bed and checking on both of my sleeping boys. They are so peaceful and perfect sleeping away, and in that moment I know that tomorrow will be just as hard as the day before but oh how precious they are and my heart is so full with love for them I can't stand it.

So here is to my new leaf to being a better more rested put together mom!

Wish me luck!

Slacker over here!

I haven't blogged in OVER a week...that is a new low for me. I don't know if it is lazyness, or that my "To Do" list is so long by the time I sit down at the end of the day the last thing I want to do is sit down and document what is going on. I've had a busy week of planing 2 different parties, watching lots of kids for various people, trying to deep clean rooms, Drs appointments, and always trying to entertain the toddler. Lets be honest I stay at home most projects I take on by/for myself and I schedule my day around my kids which includes 4 naps between the 2 of them :)

I think overall I haven't been blogging because who really wants to read about my constant battles with Max on trying to get him to eat? Or how he has not clue what NO means...well he does but he is smart and decides not to listen. And how he is SO eager to "help" with everything I find myself wanting him our of my hair which makes me feel like a bad mom. Or how Noah weights 20 pounds and still won't sleep through the night. Right who wants to hear these things?

It's reality, and sometimes that can be a bit boring.

After going away for the weekend it was a short glimpse of the childless life I once had. How funny I once was begging Larry to have babies and leave that so simple blissful life behind. Yes Yes I love having kids but wow I never appreciated the 3 years of our life before Max arrived, more then I did that weekend. I came home feeling so refreshed and excited to see the babies but within hours I was feeling the tedious, tantrum throwing days ahead of me, and I pretty much wanted to cry and run back to having no kids.

BUT it's reality, and I am a mom, so there is no running away :)

So besides my slacking on blogging we've been doing the same day to day things. Next week I am going to watch my sister-in-laws 6 kids while they go to Mexico so next week will be nuts me and 8 kids with a husband that is never around....good times and probably some good stories so stay tuned!

Our Getaway...

Well I did it! I left my children for an entrie 48 hours and only cried on the drive to the beach house...twice. I think I deserve a metal. It was short and sweet, just the little break we had been hoping for. Larry has me all to himself, no children hanging off of me or interrupting our sentences. We stayed in a cute beach cottage and drove down to the bay for the day for some hiking, shopping, and dinner.

I forgot how much fun I have with my husband. He is so low key and casual when we travel. We get there when we get there, we find food, we chat, we sit in silence, we listen to music, sleep, lots of kissing, and diet coke whenever I want! I am one lucky women, that man is way to patient and good to me. After 5 years we finally have figured out just a small bit of each other but are so comfortable together. I love that we can sit together not talking and if feels so norma, or I can chat his head off and he listens right along. We didn't miss a beat falling right back into our childless days routine. It was blissful.

But all good things must end and I was pretty excited to get back to my babies. I came home and snuggled my babies all night long, taking them in and loving them a little bit more then I left them. I realize I need to leave them more because I feel rejuvenated when I come back. I think I am a better mom when I get little breaks from them...ya know?  I didn't document the trip to much, but here is a few shots. Check out my hot husband...yes ladies he is ALL mine ;)

honeymooners...

I won't be blogging the rest of the week {don't miss me too much} because Larry and I are going away for the weekend.

Shocked?

So am I.

But we get to act like honeymooners again... newlyweds whoot whoot!

I'm pretty excited hence all the inappropriate undertone...

But hey I am a married women and I like my husband ALOT!

SO...

See ya next week!

5 Years Later...

Happy 5 year Anniversary Larry! 

Some days it feels like we've been married forever, and others it feels like yesterday. Sadly the memory of our wedding day is a bit blurry, Im pretty sure it's the mom brain. I do remember the beautiful blustery day at the temple. I remember driving together to the temple and going to the visitors center because we had some time to kill. The sister missionaries couldn't believe we were together and being so casual about getting married in a few short hours. But I think that is us, casual and relaxed for the most part. 

These last 5 years have been anything but easy. We've double our family size, been through college, 2 rough years of law school, countless moves, and have had some monumental fights. We've had some amazingly happy moments here and there with the birth of our boys, all our adventures in D.C, some great date nights, and late night talks. 

Thanks for changing my life forever. You've taught me to be more loving, selfless, and patient. You've given me my sweet babies {and hopefully 10 more} and you've given me the opportunity to stay home and be the best mom and wife I can be. Thanks for being so ridiculously patient with me when I am grumpy and am in a fighting mood, and knowing just the right time to swoop in and give me a great big hug and hot kiss on the lips. 

We are so far from perfect and these last 5 years while rough with school and little babies have been the best and worst time and thats what marriage is pretty much all about. Thanks for being my best friend husband. I can't wait to see what happens in the next few years, and hopefully 5 years from now we are in Europe {kid free} celebrating 10 years! I Love you 99 &100. 

Catch Up...

Things we've done lately mostly over Labor Day Weekend..

...went to see Batman {finally, LOVED IT} 

...Larry build 2 new fences 

... finished some old blog posts

...planed a babyshower & birthday party 

...canned 18 quarts of pears 

...did yard work

...finished reading a books series

...put baby swing away {sigh he's grown out of it}

....organized clothes, put Noah into 6-9 months

...garage saled! 

...tried a new recipe Hawaiian BBQ chicken {yummy} 

...hair cut for Max & Larry

...booked family pictures for Christmas cards

Overall we had a busy labor day weekend. It will be the last vacation that Larry has until Christmas basically. The weekend brought some cooler weather which made me really excited for fall! I am over the heat, and am ready for cool crisp park days, sweatshirts, and early dark nights.

The Moment I Realized I Was One Of "Those" Moms...

The other day while in the car with the kids, I pulled up next to a group of teenagers. They had the music blasting, and some girl was hanging all over a not so great looking guy. I instantly thought what would her mother think. At that moment I knew deep down inside although I wanted to be this cool carefree mom, I had become a real mom. A mom that constantly wants the best for her children and is always worried about raising her kids in a very un-virtuous world.

I have to admit I am not your average 25 year old girl. Most of my non LDS friends are in the world doing lots of different things, all while keeping up with the newest trends, music, and media. I on the other hand am elbow deep in mommy hood. Changing diapers, playing with balls, cars, cooking, cleaning, and being a wife. If you asked me what is the newest song on the radio I wouldn't have a clue but I do know the theme song to Super Why...and I do know how much a gallon of whole D milk costs at probably every grocery store around!

Whenever I am out of my little bubble of my house, I continually think about how different my life is, and how I became that mom who sees a teenage girl displaying her body to the world, and wants so badly to go over to her and say respect your body, cover up, your worth so much more then you think! I feel so bad for kids who do not have a firm foundation of standards, and self worth. Whenever I have these moments in my life, it makes me want to be a better mom to my kids. I want to teach my boys to be respectful, safe, helpful, loving...all the things that the world says are not important.

Raising kids in this day in age is scary. There is so many different outlets for my boys to find out things about sex, drugs, violence,  and cheating...I feel like sometimes they don't stand a chance against the world we live in. Yes my boys are little but man alive its something I think about as Max grows and learns I want to shelter him so badly from the filth of the world. I want my boys to respect girls from the very beginning, and to stick up for their beliefs, because I know things will only get worse as our society changes.

I am so grateful I have a solid foundation of values that I learned as a teenager. I am grateful I have a husband who understands the importance of teaching boys how to become men. I LOVE that I have become on of "those" moms who not only notices her own children but others as well. If we do not want our society to become more wicked, we need to teach not only our kids but all kids that there is standards, values, those things are not old fashion! OH How I wish I could go back and tell the teenage AnnMarie to not worry about dumb boys, wearing fashionable un-modest clothes, or what is popular now...it doesn't matter because there is so much ahead of you! Teenage AnnMarie would think how uncool I am because I became on of "those" moms, but Oh how sweet it is!