NYC -- We made it!

Hard to believe, we've been in New York for a whole week already! It has seriously flown by, and I'm not even sure what to blog about it. But before I get further behind, I better add a little something here, eh? So, I thought I'd just answer some of the questions people keep asking me...

How did the move go??

It went really smoothly. I was sad to see all our stuff boxed up, but hey, at least we didn't have to move it all, (some stayed behind), and at least movers helped!

We left a lot of our furniture, since we only plan to be gone a year or two. That made it feel not quite so empty when we got everything boxed up. For those who don't know, our Aunt Cindy (who also happens to be our very good friend), is staying in our house while we're away. We're so glad she's willing to stay there and hope all goes well for her! One more pic of the house, getting packed up...

How was the flight?

It was great, considering how crazy it might have been, flying solo with three kids. Brian's parents took us to the airport, which was really helpful -- we never would have made it through check-in without their extra arms to hold all our stuff! :) When we first got in the check-in line, we were told that our flight to SLC was delayed by two hours, which meant we'd totally miss our connection to NYC. I got a sinking feeling, wondering what kind of day it would be!? But the customer service people worked with us really nicely, and rerouted us through St. Paul, and we only arrived one hour later than our original schedule, not bad! They even put us on the front row for one leg of the flight, which gave me tons of room to help the kids. whew! The kids were great, really. No fits, no crying, nothing. At one point, about 2 hrs into the flight, Spencer said, "I want to get off now, and go to the airport." I had him look out the window, and he realized it'd be a long way down to "get off now." So, he waited patiently the rest of the time. :)

Here we are at the airport, the only picture I took of our "flight" right before we checked in...

Confession: I've developed a phobia in the past few years. I really, really hate flying when there is the slightest bit of turbulence. It didn't bother me when I was younger and single. But something about being up there with my babies, I just get so anxious when there's even a little bit of a bumpy patch. I had a few sleepless nights before we left, wondering how the flight would be. But I also had some good prayers, and thankfully, we had a very smooth flight, all the way to NYC! Whew!!

Brian met us at the airport, and I forgot to take pictures. But it was wonderful to see him and be with him again. Almost six weeks apart, tooooo long!!

How's the temporary housing?
Before we left, Samantha and Spencer were staying with a friend while I took Natalie to a doctor's appointment. Sammie told our friend, "We'll be staying in an assisted living place when we first get there." Ha! Our friend asked her if she meant, temporary housing? "Oh yeah," Sam said. "I guess I get them mixed up sometimes." :)

Brian's work is putting us up for these first two weeks, so we can look for a house and get ourselves settled here. It's a really nice place, with cherry-wood hardwood floors, and flatscreen tvs in the living room and both bedrooms. We're loving it!! I took a couple of pictures after we'd been here about five minutes....

That's right... Spencer made himself right at home, blanket and all...

he kids' bedroom has a king size bed. I've found Samantha watching cartoons, with a box of cereal under the covers with her, two different mornings. Livin' the good life, eh? :)

Did we make it to the St Patrick's Day Parade?

Yes we did! And it was a great "welcome to New York" event! Brian couldn't join us, so it was just me and the kids, that first morning after we had arrived. We piled into the sit-n-stand stroller (our new best friend!!), and I wheeled all three kids down to the parade. Not the best pictures, but here we are....

Each of the kids got a "head ride" for a little while, so they could see over the crowds. Samantha took this one of me and Spence, having his head ride...

And here's Natalie. She didn't have much of a view, but well... She looked cute in her little green St. Pattys Day shirt, I must say!

I read online before we came, that the NYC St. Pattys parade is the longest, oldest St P parade in the world. (Of course, this was on the official NY St.P parade website, so they may have been "stretching" some facts, perhaps?) But it was fun to be part of it. Mostly, I wanted to get there because it marked an anniversary of sorts for me...

Ten years ago on St. Patrick's Day, my best friend, Alicia, and I were in NYC together, shortly after we had moved to Boston. Alicia was getting laser surgery on her eyes in NY, and I was the driver. We stayed with Alicia's old roommate, on a tiny futon in her tiny apartment in the Bronx. We went site seeing on St. Patricks Day, and just happened into the parade that day. Someone gave us green bandanas, which we wore the rest of the day, as we walked around the city. It was such a fun trip... we walked between the World Trade Centers and got a donut in the Krispy Creme shop at the bottom (March 2001, before 9/11), we got tix from a scalper to see Annie Get Your Gun, or something like that, with Reba McEntire. We had someone take our picture together on top of the Empire State Building. (I wish I had thought to scan that picture... I ran into it when I was packing for this move.) It was my first trip to New York, and I was astonished, amazed, and intimidated by the big city! I remember thinking, "New York is NOT the place for me!" As much as I loved being the tourist and seeing the sites, I felt a bit like a fish-out-of-water.

And now... ten years to the day... I found myself at the St. Patrick's Day parade once again, this time with three kids in tow... moving to New York. Wow. Who knew?! Another confession: I still feel like a fish-out-of-water. But I've discovered in the past ten years that I'm much more adaptable than I thought I was. :)

A couple picts of the actual parade...

Look how tall this guy is (below)... he shoulda been a ball player instead of a piper! ha!!

Next question...

How's the house hunt?

Great! We found a place and signed a lease yesterday!! Yay! It's in Harrison (Westchester County), which will be about a 45-50 minute commute for Brian on the train. It's up the coast, just about 10-15 mins drive to the beach. We're very excited to have found a place so quickly -- and one that "ticks all our boxes" too!! I went looking at several options the first Thursday afternoon when we just arrived. We put an offer in on something the next day, but it fell through. Then on Saturday I looked again with no luck. Sunday morning our agent called to tell us about a property we had somehow "missed," even though it's right the area we've been looking. So, we went and saw it, put an offer in on Monday morning, and... here it is....

I can't figure out how to post the pictures of the inside, but it looks great, inside and out! It's a duplex, and I think an older couple lives next door. That garage and driveway are ours, and the whole left side of the house. It's a split entry, with three bedrooms and lots of storage upstairs, and a kitchen, living room, and laundry downstairs. There's a big deck on the back, and a fenced back yard to share with the neighbors. All this for a VERY reasonable price -- $700-800 per month less than we were hoping/expecting. We're celebrating!!

What else have we been up to?

Swimming in the pool at our fancy-pants place...

Every day except Sunday, so far!

Natalie has spent most of her pool time "observing." I got her in her suit the first day, but then I realized, if I'm holding Spencer (his floaties don't work worth beans), and I'm watching Samantha (her floaties work, but still...) Well, sorry, Nat.

She repaid me by blowing out in her not-so-protective swim diaper. All. over. her. carseat. uggg.

We've had fun watching the street performers....

Elmo was right on the corner near Central Park. Poor Spence went running up to him, and tripped on his own feet and wiped out royally! He didn't end up hugging Elmo, but instead bawled in my arms while Sammie got her picture with Elmo...

And yes, I took a picture of him in his embarrassing moment. Mean Mom. And gave Elmo 50 cents for causing a commotion in front of him for a few mins -- bad for the business, ya know?

We've been gawking at all the schwanky stores that we'll probably never go into...

And all the super-tall skyscrapers... Some of them are truly works of art!!

We also spent a lovely afternoon in Central Park last Friday. It got up to 72 degrees! (It's back to 30-something-and snowing today, oh well.)

Here's the way we travel. Gotta love the sit-n-stand, though it's quite the HEAVY load when they're all three riding!!

The kids LOVED the sandbox at the kids' playground in Central Park. I was relieved when they both decided to dig -- right beside me -- so I didn't have to try to keep an eye on them in the THRONGS of people that came to the park for that first sunny day of the season.

Samantha posed for this picture. It was her last request -- to climb on the rocks in Central Park -- before we had to go back to our apartment.

Other than that, we've also spent lots of time just lounging in our place, watching cartoon network, coloring, and playing with bendaroos. :)

I better sign off for now, or I'll make this soooo long no one will ever read the whole thing, and then I'll not get a single comment. ;) Bye for now!

What I'm talking about?

Another cute little tidbit from Samantha...

After church today, I was making lunch and Sammie was sitting at the kitchen counter watching me, and rambling on about such things as "tomatoes are more red than apples, did you know that, Mom?" (as she looked at our fruit bowl that has both tomatoes and apples in it right now) -- and "this fan I made could be a broom, or a fan, just from how I fold it, did you know, Mom?" -- and other similar "interesting" bits.

I gave her my occasional, mmm hmm... and halfway looked up to see what she was referring to a couple of times, as I tried to get beans on the stove, and leftover noodles reheated in the microwave. Obviously, I wasn't listening very well, when she stopped talking, paused for my answer (which didn't come), and then said, "Mom?? Do you EVEN know what I'm talking about??!"

Caught. I had no clue what last gems she'd just passed out to me, so I started to come clean. I was about to apologize and give her my full undivided attention.

But before I could say anything, she gave a big sigh and said, "Well, I really don't think you know what I'm talking about. But I know what I'm talking about."

A pause, then, mainly to herself, in a matter-of-fact voice, "I'm talking about... um. I'm talking about... Well, I'm talking about whatever it is I'm talking about."

Boy. Glad I didn't interrupt that one! She obviously knew JUST what she was talking about! No help from Mom. She comes up with some good ones, for sure!

New Nork, New Nork!!

Spencer (crying): I wanna go to New Nork and see Daddy.

Me: We can't go there today, sweetheart. But in a few weeks.

Spencer (again): I wanna go to New Nork! New Nork!

Me (again): Not today, babe.

Spencer (after a short pause): Then, I want to go to Wal-mart.

We went to Wal-mart.

It was easier than New York.

(Aside: the people in front of us at Wal-mart filled TWO carts with groceries and only spent $14.00. No joke. They got some good stuff, too. No coupons, so I'm assuming it was government aid? Well, it took about 25 mins to ring it all up. I was ready to PAY them $14.00 just to hurry it up a little.)

No, this post is not about Wal-mart, actually. It's about New York. Anybody ready for an update? I sure am! We've been waiting and wondering and trying to figure out the smoothest way to make this move. I think I'm ready to restate our plan...

Brian flew out to start working in New York on February 5th, as we planned (one of those many plans from yester-month). Since then, he's been working around the clock, getting used to the rigorous schedule he'll be keeping once again. And I've been staying put with the kids while he gets settled in there.

The first week, I was sad and lonely. The second week, I was sick with strep and the kids stayed with Brian's parents. The third week, we took a little trip to my parents, and to visit my aunts and cousins in Grantsville, UT. The fourth week we wrapped up our vagabonding and came back home to wait it out some more.

And now... we're headed to New York. Finally. In a week and a half, just in time for St Patty's Day. Whew! It feels good to be heading in a direction, even though we'll probably have some serious adjusting once we arrive. We're looking for a house right now, (me, via internet, and Brian, going to see what I find). And we're organizing and packing. Busy time. Kinda sad time, to be leaving. But exciting time, too... I really like the East Coast. We'll just have to see how everything shakes out in a few weeks, huh?

If the plans change again, I think I'm going to follow my dad's advice and just stop telling anyone what we're going to do until we've already done it. Wish us luck, for now!

New Month, New Goals

Hello. I'm starting some new goals today. This is a short, "essential" set of goals that I am absolutely going to be FIRM about keeping. They have to do with my overall health and mental wellness. They are boring, but I've GOT to write them somewhere, and this seems like a good place -- a place where I know I'll feel somewhat accountable, ya know? So, here they are. Just three.

1. Go to bed at a reasonable hour. Every night.

I'm not going to list a time, because it really does depend on what's going on around me. I mean, if I have "unsettled" kids I don't want to complicate the issue by feeling guilty that I'm not in bed right at 10:30, right? But at the same time, I think we all know that my current standard 1 a.m. bedtime is NOT a "reasonable hour." So, it has to go. I am going to bed early, forfeiting that "unwind" time that turns into undisciplined hours of Netflix, facebook, or laundry. (and yes, I do believe laundry can be counted in that list, when I'm choosing to stay up all hours to do it.) Sleep is more important than these things, and it needs to be more important to me.

2. Don't eat after the kids go to bed.

I might have to give myself a little bit of slack on this, seeing that I'm doing dinners by myself with the kids right now. I mean, if I need to get the kids off to bed before I can have a decent dinner for myself, well, that's one thing. But if I'm snacking on junk at 9, 10, 11 p.m.... I'm just packin' in the calories that I don't really need. And being a "nursing mom" is not a good excuse anymore, I've decided. So, after the kids' bedtime, no more junk for me.

3. No more complaining. Think, speak, and do happy things, selfless things, better things.

This one is more about altering my attitude. I admit, I'm not much of a winter person. I kind of freeze up during the cold months and my mood goes downhill. Our unsettled circumstances have exacerbated that problem immensely of late. But I'm going to try really hard to focus on the positive, look for the learning opportunities in my situation, and give the good details instead of the bad, as often as I can. This does not mean you'll never hear from me if I'm having a rough time. But it does mean I'm going to try harder to be happy and show my gratitude for what I have and who I am. Wish me luck!

I also have a list of things I'd like to do better at, but I will save it for later. I'm trying to simplify here, and that means just focusing on a few little goals at a time. I'll be back later (or hopefully sooner) with more details from our family/stuff.

Update, even when I'm a little down

It's true, my blog is old and stale, and needs an update. But it's also true that I have not felt like writing, for various good reasons. That said, I thought I'd at least give a little family update, and maybe some creative juices will start flowing for me?

Let's go with a quick overview for each of the kids, for starters...

Natalie

-- Is four months old now. Did I count that correctly?! FOUR?! Wow. Time is flying. I can't seem to put the next size of clothes in her drawers as fast as she seems to grow out of them.

-- She eats like a champ, every three to five hours. We top her off with formula sometimes at night, just to make sure she goes to sleep with a nice full tummy.

-- At her four-month check up, she weighed in at 13 pounds, 1 oz... right near the 50th percentile for weight, just like Sammie. And, she was 25 inches long... 75th percentile for height, just like Sammie. We love our little Sammie Jr.

-- She is starting to sleep through the night (knock on wood). Lately, I've fed her at 8 - 8:30, and she doesn't eat again until around 8 a.m. Amazing and wonderful. Of course, some nights she thinks 6 a.m. will do, and she usually gets a binky at that point... we're pushing for the full 12 hours, baby!

-- She smiles, giggles, coos, and gets mauled by Spencer on an hourly basis. Last weekend, she even sat up on my bed, by herself! She's kind of tilting, but she held strong for a good 30 secs or so. She also love to grab things and switch them back and forth from hand to hand -- and hand to mouth. Her bink is her favorite thing to grab, but she doesn't ever seem to put it back in the right way... not YET, I should say.

-- A couple pics of the cutie... Here she is, sitting up. Okay, so she's kinda starting to fold over, but that's because she'd been sitting there for a couple of minutes before I got the camera. It's hard work sitting up, as a four-month-old, eh!?...

Lovin' those chubby little cheekers...

And one more new pastime... this girl LOVES television/computer-vision. She can't get enough, and gravitates toward the colorful screen if it's on in the same room where she is.

Spencer

-- He will be THREE next week. We'll have to do a special tribute to him at that time. But for now I'll just say he's been growing like crazy... already into 4T clothes, big, tall boy!

-- He's just about ready to start potty training, as soon as I can convince him that it's okay to sit on the potty chair. We have Cars flushable wipes, Toy Story pull-ups, Thomas underwears, and a blue chair from big-boy Zach in the neighborhood, wish us luck!

-- He's a shy guy, and gets pretty nervous around kids he doesn't know. In fact, a few weeks ago I tried to take him to the gym with me while Samantha was at preschool. I dropped him off at the child watch place and the poor kid clung to my leg hysterically. I caved and took him home, asking him on the way why he was so nervous. "Mom. I don't like kids," he told me. Guess he's like a little old man, or something. That said, I would appreciate it if he didn't follow me around the house quite so much. I'm flattered, but really...

-- He still loves Thomas the Train, and has memorized all the different trains who are Thomas' friends. He also loves Cars (and will be getting it as a special birthday present. shhh, don't tell!) He also just loves playing with Hotwheels and trains and semi-trucks and tractors, like most boys, I think?

-- He has a little rash on his face right now, from dry, chappy skin and runny nose combined. So, we don't have a lot of pics of him from the last few weeks. But here's a group shot of all three cuties...

Spencer decided he LOVES sledding, when we were at McCall a couple of weeks ago (update forthcoming). Here he is at the top of a great big sled run...

Samantha

-- She's been a little bit stir-crazy since her preschool teacher moved last month. No school... what to do with a very active 5-year-old?! She has certainly been making lots of "projects" lately, including lots of tape-and-cut-and-glue paper creations, paintings, crayon and marker drawings, even a gorgeous lace-and-ribbons Valentine's card that she made at Grandma and Grandpa Bishops.

-- Her hair is a wonder to behold, sometimes. With the dry, winter weather, and her thin, wispy fly-away hair, it's a little out of control most of the time. Any hair do lasts about 10 minutes, max. So we've kind of given up doing Sammie's hair, for now.

-- She loves going to church. Actually, she loves going anywhere, but most especially to church. This past weekend, when I was sick, she came out wearing a dress and informed me that she would be going to church even if I was not. She helped me figure out a plan where she could ride with neighbors and sit with friends. It worked out, and she was thrilled to be so independent (and so righteous). :)

-- She's really quite good at reading now, except, only when she wants to. She can look at things and figure them out. But if she'd prefer to have me read to her, well, she just shouts out random guesses and is very stubborn about NOT sounding anything out for herself. But hey, she's still got several months till kindergarten -- I'm not complaining, eh?

-- She made a blanket fort in our bedroom a few days ago. She has begged me to keep it up, and it's still standing. I have to say, it's one of her better creations, when it comes to blanket forts. She's quite the builder/architect these days!

-- She still loves princess attire, and changes her clothes several times a day. Here's a picture of her at 9 pm. She had been in pajamas for nearly an hour, then suddenly I turned around and she was dancing on my bed (which she had "unmade"-- or more accurately, stripped, for easier dancing), wearing this....

She's also our little snow bunny, she decided on our little trip to McCall. We could not get her to come in!

Even when no one else wanted to play in the snow, she was out there all by herself, lovin' it! And, get this... she/we forgot her coat! So, all she had was my fleece sweatshirt. But she didn't care one bit!

Just thought this one (below) was a cute one of her with Natalie. She sure loves being the big sister!

There's more to tell, I'm sure. Like... why am I just writing random stuff instead of telling about the big move? Well. We didn't go yet. Brian's there and we're here. And that's a story I'll someday tell on here. But for now, Natalie's crying, dinner's not made, I'm still in my pajamas (give me a break today... still recovering from strep), and I keep hearing Sammie and Spencer in their bedroom saying things like "you broke it!" and "ouch!" and "oh no!"

Obviously, I should be doing other things besides blogging. And so I shall. Hope you enjoyed a short, less-inspired update for today. We're still out here, still rollercoastering along...

Ciao for now.

Blit, from Sammie

A typical car conversation when I'm out with the kids...

Samantha: Mom, what does B-L-I-T spell?

Me, while driving and trying to listen to the radio: What, Sammie?

Sam, repeats: What does B-L-I-T spell?

Me: Ummm... B-L-I-T?

Sam: Yeah.

Me: Umm... Nothing.

Sam: Nothing? It spells Nothing?

Spencer, our little parrot: Nothing.

Me: No. It doesn't spell "Nothing." It doesn't spell anything.

Spencer: Spell anything.

Sam (ignoring Spencer): But what does it spell?

Me: Well, it's just four letters. I guess it spells "Blit."

Sam: Blit?

Spencer: Blit?

Sam: What does Blit mean, Mom??

Me: Nothing.

Sam: Blit means the same as nothing?

Me: No. Blit doesn't mean anything, Sammie. It's just four letters. It's not a real word.

Sam: Well, if it was a real word, then what would it mean?

Me: umm... what do you mean?

Sam: Well, what does Blit mean?

Spence: Mom, what does Blit mean?

Me: What do you mean, Samantha? I mean, where did you see B-L-I-T, to start wondering what it spells and what it means?

Sam: Well, just nowhere! It just came to me in my head! (sounding so amazed at her own knowledge.)

A pause.

Sam: But what does Blit mean?

Spence: What does Blit mean??

Me: Well, it's not a real word, Sammie. (again)

Sam: I know that, but if it was a real word, I just want to know what it would mean.

Me: Hey look!!! There's Arctic Circle!

Spence: Arctic Circle!!

Ah... saved by distraction, once again.

Look Alike?

You tell me... Half of these pics are of Natalie, half are pictures of Samantha, from five years ago. Can you tell which baby is which??

Okay, so the hair (or lack of, in Samantha's case) makes it easier to tell. But still, we sure get a lot of comments about how Natalie and Samantha look alike. I think maybe we're onto something here, eh?!

In case you were having trouble telling which is which: 1.Natalie 2.Samantha 3.Natalie 4.Samantha 5.Natalie 6.Samantha. They both wore this cute little outfit at two months, and promptly grew out of it about two days after the first time they wore it! Sammie wore it on Valentines Day, Natalie wore it right around the first of December. How fun -- sisters sharing clothes, already! :)

Tea Party, and other randomness

The other day, Samantha called to me excitedly, "Mom!! You HAVE to come in my room, for a VERY special surprise!" I was secretly a little worried, considering some of her recent "surprises" have included a big blanket fort, some stickers on the side of her dresser, a huge mess of dried clay on the floor, marker masterpieces on the kitchen counter, etc. But she was adamant that I would LOVE this surprise FOR SURE. So, I obediently followed her, and found her darling miniature tea set arranged on her little IKEA table, set up perfectly for a tea party.

I happened to be holding Natalie at the time, but was quick to show my enthusiasm by grabbing some chocolate graham crackers and juice for the party. Then I asked Sammie if it would be okay if Natalie joined us... What a fun idea! You can probably imagine how Samantha squealed in delight. And so, we had ourselves a little tea party, with Big Bear, and Natalie...

Natalie got her own special seat in Samantha's doll stroller (my idea, actually). She was very solemn and non-conversational, and didn't even pretend to taste the tiny graham cracker crumb I put on her lower lip.

I couldn't stop laughing, she just looked so cute/funny, sitting up to the table like a big girl. She really looked just like one of the dolls Sam is always strolling around the house...

I just hope Samantha doesn't try for a second round when I'm not around, eh?!

Some other random pics I thought I'd share just for fun...

I'm not sure what these three cousins were up to, but they each got one of Natalie's bottles and filled it with water that they were dripping into their mouths "without sucking on them," they told me. Must have been some kind of game. Betcha it was Seth's idea, he comes up with some fun and crazy stuff!

Another cute Natalie picture, just because I can't resist...

And I love this one of Sammie and Natalie together. Sweet smiley sisters!

Here's one of my grandma, holding little Natalie. She always says she doesn't like to see herself in pictures, but I think this one's a great one...

And this last one, I thought it was funny when I took it, because Spencer just curled up on the kitchen floor while I was making dinner one night and fell fast asleep...

Turns out, it wasn't quite as funny as I thought. The poor kid had a really high fever and was sick for several days after that. We had to take him to urgent care two different nights, and eventually made a trip to the ER. No fun! They never got a clear diagnosis of what was wrong with him, but the ER doctor prescribed some antibiotics that helped knock his fever down and get him back to normal.

Only, the antibiotic also messed with his digestive system, and he's still recovering from that. Sigh. He has a bad diaper rash and it stays bad because... well, if you want to talk poopy talk with me, I'll tell you over the phone. But I'll just say, the reason I'm STILL up at nearly 1 a.m. again is not just to blog. In the time that I've been writing this and checking craigslist and overstock.com for deals, I've also been in and out of Spencer's room probably 10 times since 10 p.m. (the time I put on my pj's and VOWED I would be in bed by 11 tonight). I've been comforting him, changing him and... there he goes again. Sigh.

Well, just a few more pics to put up while I have the time. Then hopefully he'll calm down enough that I can sleep. I thought I'd add a picture of our Christmas morning, after Santa came but before the kids woke up...

It was a great Christmas, and these two pics may be the only ones that end up on my blog, unless I get some spare time here in the near future (not likely, with 10 days till our move). Here's some of the cousins, at our Christmas Eve dinner/party. They all got their pajamas on, except Connor. I think they looks so cute all together...

And here are a few of the only pictures of our New Year's trip to visit with my parents and sibs...

Kind of a funny story, this series (above and below). My mom got some of those metal brainteaser puzzles, where you have to remove the small silver ring from all the hoops and loops of the bigger rings. You know what I'm talking about? Well, we had all seen them sitting around, but no one was really too interested in them. Then, one afternoon, my mom and dad left for a few hours. But my mom called on her cell phone and I answered...

Mom: Hi Kam! I was just thinking, your brothers are just sitting around there, visiting. Maybe they'd like to work on those little metal brainteasers that are up on the counter, if you wouldn't mind telling them.

Me: Okay, I'll let them know. (Thinking that was an odd request).

Mom: I especially think Blaine might like them. He's really good at figuring out those kinds of things.

Me: Yeah, he is.

Mom: And Trent. He is great at puzzles and problem solving, you know?

Me: Uh huh. I'll tell him, too.

Mom: Oh, and even Lisa might like to try them. She's really smart like that!

Me (just starting to think to myself, "what about ME being smart like that?" while at the same time thinking, did she really just call to tell me to tell them to play with her metal puzzle things?"): I'll tell Lisa, too, Mom.

Mom: You know, even Brian might like to try those. He's so good at figuring things out!!

I waited again for my own invitation. Nothing. So finally, Me: Yeah, Brian's really smart. (pause.) Um, Mom? Did you really just call to tell me to tell them to work on those brainteasers?

Mom: Well... yes. I just think they'd really like figuring them out.

Me (feeling slightly defensive, in a joking way, of couse): Ummm... what about me?

Mom: YOU?? (longer pause) I, uhh, I don't think YOU would like those puzzle things, would you??!?

Ha! I got the picture. And I passed on the message. And, they all laughed, and then proceeded to play with her little brainteasers for more than an HOUR!

I tried working on them for about 5 minutes. My mom was right; I'm not smart like that. heh heh.

Welp, I think/hope Spencer is finally sleeping. Whew! And it's my same ol' bedtime again... 1 a.m. Like clockwork. So off I go, ready for another night of a few blessed hours of sleep.

Endless Torment

There's a phrase in the scriptures that describes what will be the punishment for those who do really bad things in this life, or do not live up to what they were capable of... those who just don't "make it." That phrase is: Endless Torment.

Well, I am quite sure I know what part of my own personal Endless Torment would be, if I'm one of those unlucky ones who just doesn't "make it." ....

I'd be placed on a big, soft comfortable bed with the perfect pillow and the perfect amount of blankets and the lights dimmed just so, and maybe even a "just in case" glass of water on a little table beside the bed. Then, I'd be told that I could sleep whenever I wanted to. Oh boy!!!

Only,

every time I'd close my eyes and just barely start to drift off to that heavenly dreamland of sleep...

SOMEONE WOULD...

WAKE

ME

UP.

And that, my friends, would be Endless Torment. To me, anyway.

Sigh.

I know, because it happens to me alllllll the time around here. I long for just one sleep where I get to wake up all on my own. Just once. It seems soooo very long ago that I had that privilege. Here are pictures of my sweet little "tormentors."

Here's the main source...


I know, she looks all innocent and sweet, right??

Who? Me??

And here's a likely accomplice...

Don't be fooled by that cute little finger-and-blanket rouse.

Or those sweet baby blues...

And this one here... yeah, she's as tough as she looks...

They look like they're just sweetly posing for a sibling picture, right?

But what if they're secretly plotting??

Conspiring. See, doesn't it just look like Samantha is whispering to Natalie, "You take the 5- 6:30 a.m. shift. Spencer's got 2-3 a.m. covered, and I'll make sure I'm up for the day by 7." Can't you see it??

Because this is what they want...

And they do usually get what they want, of course.

Even this one gets in on the "tormenting" action, often taking the "lets talk while I'm taking a 12:30 a.m. work break" ...

And naps are usually scarce these days, between this...

And this...

There's really no need for this...

When I've got this...

All of this is in jest, really. Except for the part about me missing my sleep. I guess it just comes with the Mom territory, huh? And I'm happy to take it. In fact, I'm quite sure my Endless Torment is not as bad as Brian's current Endless Torment... he just never gets to sleep. Period. But that's a story for another time.

Bye for now, just thought I'd share some cute pics of the kids and a "secret wish" of mine... Sleep. Sleep. Sleep.

Change of Plans

Well, it's been a long while again. And it may be another while before I get a lot posted on here. I'm just not in the blogging mood these days. (I think it has to do with having three kids, which would be worth blogging about, if I could just find the time.) But for today...

It has been brought to my attention that I have news to share and I might as well share it in a way that it travels fast and reaches the people who like to keep up with our news. So, I'm blogging about our move.

For those of you who got our Christmas card (and sorry if you didn't... I lost my address book awhile back and am still "reconstructing"), well, you probably think to yourself, "Ah! I know what this news is she speaks of. I read it in their Christmas card." Right?

Well, actually... right, and wrong. See, I have been quite remiss in blogging these past few months, and have deliberately not mentioned our move because nothing seemed very definite except the fact that we were moving. To London. To do the same thing we were doing before we moved to Idaho.

And then, finally, by Christmas, I felt like I had wrapped my head around the whole idea enough that I could at least include that bit of info in our Christmas cards. "We're moving to London," I wrote, trying to sound more enthusiastic and less overwhelmed than I felt. There are pros and cons to a move like this, and I'm afraid my current trend is to "gear up" for the cons, before trying to get excited about pros. Why can't I be more like Brian, or Blaine, or my mom, and focus on the positives first, I wonder? But that has very little to do with what I'm actually trying to write here.

Well, so we're NOT moving to London anymore. We're moving to New York. As in, New York City. And Brian's going back to work for the same firm he worked for in London, but he'll be in their New York office this time. And the kids and I will live in the suburbs nearby, and Brian will most likely live in his office most of the time, and see us on weekends. (You are reading that last sentence as a joke, I presume, and I wish it was. sigh.)

There. I've officially announced our move on my blog. Whew! I'm not sure what else to say? I could tell about the weird struggle Brian and I were both having about the decision to move back to London. It was officially my idea, way back a few weeks after Natalie was born... Brian was trying to decide whether to go back to work for his firm from before, and I told him NO WAY did I ever want to live in New York, (which is where one of the partners in the New York office wanted him to go). But I admitted I could probably do London again for awhile. Within a few days, the idea grew on us both, and we talked to S&S and got things set to go back to the UK.

But then, there was this incredibly long wait for visas (they eventually told us mid-February or March?), and the second-guessing started. I started getting really wistful and sappy about every little thing we were leaving behind. I started buying clothes (because they cost so much more there than they do here) and all my favorite "American" things to stock up and bring with us (like Kraft Mac&Cheese... how could my kids survive without it?! ha!). And every family event felt like our LAST time with everyone all together -- our LAST Thanksgiving, our LAST holiday season, our first AND LAST Christmas in our new home. (I blame all the sappiness partly on the fact that I'm still a sleep-deprived nursing mom.)

By New Years, I still felt like I was really dragging my feet, thinking about how hard it was going to be to drag three kids around London. Little things -- like paying a pound deposit to "rent" a shopping cart at the grocery store, or all the driving frustrations on those tiny roads with speed cameras, or trying to take three kids on a bus or the Tube -- kept getting to me. I'd get this overwhelmed, panicky feeling, like I just really didn't want to go. Poor Brian, to have to constantly be reminding me that it would be okay.

Then, one morning last week, Brian woke up and decided we should move to New York instead. It wasn't really that simple, but it kinda felt like it, to me. Once he mentioned it, it was almost like someone turned on a light bulb for both of us. We mulled it over, prayed about it, talked about it incessantly through last weekend. And by Monday afternoon, Brian asked the partner in NY if it'd be okay to change our move plans and come to NY instead. Two minutes later, it was a done deal.

I'm still not sure why I was so adamant that I DIDN'T want to live in New York when we first started talking about it. And I'm also not sure why we were so definite about going to London, or what changed to make New York suddenly seem like the right place for us. But it's where we're headed, and I'm actually quite excited about it now. Even though it's going to be sad to leave here, this will be a good thing for our family, I believe.

And that's a true story, written at midnight, by a very tired, uninspired blogger-mom who is now very content to go to New York instead of London, and is also very ready to go to bed! G'nite!