ScreenFree Week 2016 (Aug 22-Aug 28)

I Hope You Like Reading . . .

 .. Because our internet is so slow, uploading pictures to the blog is like a day-long ordeal. And it’s already been (quite) a day, so you get to read instead.

I read an article once a year or two ago about a family that had an annual ScreenFree week in their home. They put away tablets, computers, TVs, SmartPhones, etc and focused on spending more time with each other. For some reason that idea stuck with me, so Jacob and I decided to try it out with our family.

Compared to other homes, I’m sure our screen time is limited. We don’t own a TV. The only computer we own is a desktop (actually, neither one of us have ever owned a laptop. . . .how about that?!). Our phones are basic talk-and-text phones. We have one tablet that we got for free and kind of by accident. In regards to social media, we don’t have Twitter, Instagram or Tumblr accounts. We’re not much into news channels or Pinterest (I use that for the occasional Christmas gift and/or recipe ideas), and our YouTube use is to listen to certain songs that we don’t own. (And Studio C sketches.) And actually, our computer pretty much is our main method of listening to music now that I think about it . . .

Buuut . .. I’m sure I’m not the only one gets sucked into the computer. What is it about Facebook in particular that just sucks time and energy away from you? You scroll and scroll the newsfeed and maybe once in a while you actually look up or message something semi-important. My well-deserved mom-guilt kicks in when I realize I’ve been sitting at the computer for too long and (shall I say) ignoring my kids. Granted, maybe I was doing something worthwhile. . .checking my bank account, writing a weekly email to my family, looking for some home-schooling ideas, finding new recipes, etc. But also a good percentage of that time was also probably on Facebook.

Well, this week, I put the mommy guilt on the shelf and I spent some real time with my kids. Of course, this ScreenFree week corresponded with sick kids and rainy weather, the two biggest components that made it a little more challenging. ;)

All in all, this past week was awesome.

We played outside. We went to McDonald’s and played on the play place (for a good two hours!). We went to the school book fair. We read books. We learned about seeds and plants. We learned lots of new songs and song games. We went for a drive to the riverbed to find rocks for the garden bed. We barbecued. We played games. We played the piano more. We played outside some more. We read more books. We played with puzzles. We played with magnets. We did a counting game or two. We visited the library twice. We colored. I did some deep cleaning (which was necessitated by the vomit and diarrhea). We cuddled. We tickled. We laughed. We read some more books. We rocked. And rocked some more. We played with a big tub of recyclables that I’ve been collecting. Jacob and I praised our children more and gave them fewer time-outs. We did laundry. We fed the missionaries. I pulled out my paper copy of the scriptures to read. I handwrote my journal (Heck, I journaled! That’s a biggie!). I used my trusty-dusty cookbooks to find recipes instead of searching online. I called my sister-in-law on the phone to say hi instead of just emailing. Any school work that Jacob needed to do on the computer was done at school instead of at home.

Again, I say. This week was awesome.

We will do this every year. I think my kids are still a little too young to understand all of what’s going on. Every so often Laura would ask for a dancing song or a princess song (AKA a YouTube video), but when I gently reminded her that we were doing ScreenFree week, we were easily able to find another activity to do. But for me as a mom—this was one of the most rewarding weeks I’ve had.

I’m not saying screentime is bad. You can use it for so many good and awesome things. But sometimes . .. you just gotta simplify once in a while. 

Silly things

I love the way Lucy climbs on the playground. She gets onto the lower platform squirming onto her belly, then finally up to her feet. Then she goes up the steps and down the slide. She used to be scared of the slide, but that didn't last long! At the bottom of the slide, she has to turn around on her belly to get off the slide. Then she repeats this process a billion times.

She likes to cover my nose with her palm when we play Peek-a-Boo.

She loves to kiss the end of your nose.

And if you ask her, her name is Ya-ya. For all intents and purposes, it's practically true because she IDOLIZES big sister.

She dances by shaking her hips.

And I'm pretty sure she's starting to sing the tune to Twinkle Twinkle (Larua's favorite song).

If she's walking towards you and looking at you, she often tilts her head to the side as she walks.

Laura does silly things, too. But mostly the things she does are mean touches. Sigh. At least she says really funny things!

Me: Are you wet?

L: Yes. Because I am pee-pee.

"Take off your boobies and put them in the bathroom!" (Side note: Yes, she sees me feed Sam all the time, but she gets this particular phrase from a YouTube video linked here)

She has a friend named Carrie. And Laura loves to ask to play board games. Her favorite to ask for is "Carrie-um" (Cranium)

Our local grocery store is called Gouldings. Last time we went to Blanding, we ate at a burger place that had a small bowling alley. She asked what they were doing, so we said it's a game called bowling, to which she exclaims, "I want to play Gouldings!"

"Oh my Josh!"

"Can I watch Ger-jus George?"

"What?"

"I wanna watch Jer-chus George!"

. . .she says it differently every time! =)

She loves to play in blankets and call herself "Mary." Because Mary, the mother of Jesus, has a covering over her head. She does this little skip-in-place thing with a blanket over her head. That's her form of dancing. 

She LOVES her monkey book and her Beauty and the Beast book. Which means that Lucy loves them too and takes them when Laura is otherwise occupied. 

Both girls love to play on the piano keyboard we have

Between the two of them every single book is pulled off the shelf. Every. Single. Day. 

Both love eating Ramen with frozen peas. And eggs and toast. 

And they both have a propensity to bonk their heads on stuff. Yesterday, Laura bonked her head probably four times on the bed frame (Daddy was putting it back together after we got the railing welded back on). Lucy bonks on chairs or furniture.

Both sing, rock, and "read" books constantly. 

Cleaning

I love it when I finally get around to cleaning. Not so much because I enjoy cleaning, but because I like having my kids help me. 

She kept asking, "When's it my turn? I want a turn!"

Laura hijacked some sponges from under the sink.
So they naturally wanted to clean the floor. 

It's payback time, Laura! --With aggressive love, Lucy

Nursery

Our Primary is very short-staffed right now, so in the meanwhile before we get callings, we've been filling in for Nursery--I think almost every week since we've been here. Except maybe one week.

Normally, it's our whole family, plus another girl Laura's age and a little boy Lucy's age. Now there's another boy a couple months older than Lucy.

Yesterday we spoke in church. Which means that one of us was left to herd the children while we sat in the congregation. Luckily we had some help; some women helped to hold Sam or take a girl out in the foyer as needed, but it was still pretty crazy. (Translation: girls running in the hallway, Sam having projectile spit-up ALL over, and Laura having poop leak out of her diaper)

Oh, and then we had Nursery! Another two hours with our own kids! I mean, not that I terribly mind, but it was pretty rough for a while. Between just our three kids, we had 3 poopy diapers, 2 changes of clothes, at least 2 time outs (with some scratching and biting involved .. .guess which kid!), and Sam was nursing during some of that time. And we had another boy in Nursery who is a few months shy of 18 months. We gave him a try in there with us, but being the little guy that he is, he was crying non-stop until we decided a few minutes later to take him to his mom. The other 3 yo had to be taken to her mom twice for help going potty, and one of the new little boys is a bit like Laura in the aggression factor.

Whew. It was rough.

Finally, after clean-up, we had snacks. The 15 mo old boy was with his mom, as well as the other 3 yo who needed her mom for the potty. Sam was asleep on Jacob's shoulder (and Jacob was dozing, too). It's amazing how calm it can get when all the toys are put away and you pull out the fruit snacks and crackers. We had a short little lesson on temples, then some coloring and some songs to wrap up the time. Those last 15 minutes were so precious with those kiddos.

I'm just hoping that maybe we don't get called to Nursery .. .especially since our kids comprise of half of the nursery. Then again, whoever does get called to Nursery will probably be needing us every 15 minutes or so for a diaper change or to solve some behavioral issue . .. .=)

After church, we had nice long naps. Then we had our neighbors Cindy and Stephen over for ice cream. Though they are not LDS, they are good people and it was really awesome to get to know them a little better. Then we had a fire pit at the compound with some other families who stuck it out. Great time visiting, roasting marshmallows and getting all smelled up like smoke.

Saturday is a Special Day

Here's why:

Morning Cuddle Time (1 out of 4 is dressed, btw)

 The girls and I walked to the elementary school playground. Which is awesome. Buuut it was deathly hot today. Lucy wanted to be carried on the way home so she could just drink contently from the water in my CamelBak. Laura saw a concrete tube; she called it a bear's home. Then she cried that she wanted Daddy (translation: I want Daddy so he can carry me).

We got back, and Laura saw that she had left her beloved silly putty out on the apartment playground. She immediately went inside to wash it, but it was dirty and awfully dried out. I suggested that maybe we can ask (or "aks" as Laura says) Sarah to help us make some more. So, Laura immediately ran out of the house to go ask Sarah for more. And again, the silly putty is her beloved toy.

Later the Muhlesteins watched our girls while Jacob and I and the little guy went on a date to The View, which is basically what it sounds like. Although it's also a hotel/restaurant/gift shop/museum about anything and everything about the Navajo Nation. We live in a pretty cool place with some awesome history.

Meanwhile the girls got to play in the wading pool, play with shaving cream and play with play-dough and dolls. To say they were reluctant to come home is understating it by far.

Oh, and this li'l guy had a birthday. Time is flying.

Love those li'l dimples. .. =)

After bedtime for the kiddles, we finally attacked the three baskets (or bak-sets, as Laura calls them) of clean clothes that have been washed over the last couple of days. We recently got some new clothes hampers . ..some cheap-o ones, but hampers nonetheless. Normally I try to do ALL the laundry on Tuesdays, but I decided I should dub one of the hampers the "pee hamper." That way, the smelly peed-on clothes don't stink up our closet for a whole week, and they don't make sorting out the clothes a smelly chore. Then when the pee hamper is full, regardless of what day it is, the whole load gets washed. I think I created the pee hamper idea yesterday . ..maybe the day before.

Today I did the 3rd (or was it 4th?) pee load of clothes, sheets and blankets that had pee and poo on them.

Hence, the very large pile of clothes to fold and put away. Which included making at least two beds.

We were putting all these clean things away when Laura says to me from her recently-made-less-than-ten-minutes ago bed, "I pee-peed, Mommy!" Then the dreaded realization that she is wearing PANTIES!!

Sigh . . .

Well, pee hamper . ..you are full again, ready for another load tomorrow . ..

Fun Friday

Mostly is was fun because Laura didn't get time-out at all today.

And it was super fun because our neighbor Sarah helped all the kids make their own homemade silly putty. Laura has been inseparable from hers all day.

And as usual, we had the missionaries over for dinner. Cranberry chicken and couscous with a side of green beans. Yum! And this deliciousness for dessert. (The brownie stuff, not the kid. Although I want to eat her every stinkin' day)

Cards and Kisses

We have an old wipes container full of random cards. There's face cards, color cards, number cards, letter cards, Pooh cards, Elmo cards, and a few church pictures. They all used to be complete sets in and of themselves, but with kids .. .yeah right. So, we just pile them together and let the kids play with them every so often.

Here's how they were playing with them today.

Now afterwards, there was a big mess. I did not want to help the girls clean up cards AND toys AND books AND who knows what else. So I told them that they couldn't play with anything else until the cards were picked up.

My three-year old really knows how to push my buttons sometimes, and I'm sad to admit that I reacted just as she anticipated. I got angry back and grabbed her a little too roughly and spoke a little too loudly. (Am I the only mom that wants to squeeze something really hard when I get frustrated? Like my fingers instinctively clench together and my jaw clenches and I am ready to just grab a hold of something. Sadly, one of the things I grab is often my kids' arms . . .)

So, I realized. . perhaps a bit too late . .. .that my reaction was not appropriate for what was going on. I took a few minutes and locked myself in my room to cool down, pray and do some repenting. When I came back out I spoke gently with the girls apologizing for being too rough and too loud. She immediately responded with the sweetest kiss and said, "It's OK, Mommy!" And Lucy--who does absolutely everything big sister does-- gives me a big smacker on the cheek, too.

These girls melt my heart.

Of course, when I have a gentle enough heart to see it.

Repenting is hard. Changing how I react to things is unbelievably hard. But it's worth earning those sweet kisses and hugs.

But it also  makes me wonder. . .how many sweet kisses am I missing out on when I react poorly in the first place?

Only So Much You Can Do

You probably heard the phrase "There's only so much you can do."

To me this sentence indicates that you have limits -- you can't do something because there's only so much you can do, and you can't do more than that. 

That phrase popped in my head this morning when I two inconsolable babies, a frustrating hour on the phone with customer service, a floor covered in popcorn and mystery poop somewhere in the apartment.

Well, if I have limits, then I'm going to see how much I can do. Sweep and mop the floor. Wash and put away dishes. Wash diapers. Finish laundry and put it away.

And you know what. . . .it felt pretty good.

I felt almost as cool as this little goose. 

Better When I'm Dancing

I decided the real reason that I'm keeping up with my blog. It's tough being a mom to young kids, and I have a least one little melt-down every day. OK, some days it's LOTS of BIG meltdowns, but you get the idea.

So if I can find something happy and joyful to post on my blog each day, then it's something to look forward to. And it's a good way to remember my kids' "magical years" as a friend recently reminded me. So whenever I am tempted to have one of those highly explosive moments that all moms have (hear, hear), I can think on the joyful and funny moments I've added (or hope to add!) to my blog.

I was reading a book with Laura today, and the last picture was this:

She was excited to see the carousel since we rode one together at the zoo a couple of months ago. She saw the car ride in the corner of the page and said, "A car-o-sell! I wanna ride the car-o-sell! Let's jump on it and ride it, OK?"

Then she set the book on the ground and jumped on the page.

Not even kidding.

And I don't even think she's seen Bert and Mary Poppins do that either. My child is just brilliant. =)

Come 5:00 and she's getting tired and I REALLY did't want her to nap that late. So, I decided to put on some upbeat music and get us dancing.

Heidi first introduced me to this song on a lull in a day at Grandma's house. Normally, I don't like Meghan Trainer, but I really like this song. And I really like her hot red dress in this video . ..just sayin' . . .. And well, I Feel Better When I'm Dancing . ..don't you?

And apparently my kids do, too. #mommywin

Aaannd .. .I'm bookmarking this page for future use. =)

Returning the Favor

I read in a book of fiction yesterday that a character asks another if she prays. The female responds that no, she doesn't really pray to God, yet she tries to live an honest and true life. To this, the first states, "God is talking to us every day. Ought we not to return the favor?"

I like the truth of that statement. God really does talk to us every day, although we don't hear or see Him directly. He talks to us through the kind words and actions of others. He talks to us through the pleasures we enjoy every day. . .a beautiful sunset, a rainstorm, a delicious piece of cheesecake or a nice juicy burger. He speaks to us through stable employment, through education opportunities, through humor and physical touch.

I realize more and more every day that I am an imperfect parent. But I sure love it when my kids ask me for something, "Read this book to me?" "Please may I want some milk?" or when they express gratitude or joy. Jacob taught Laura to say "This is amazing Mommy!" when they're eating a particularly yummy meal that I made. And even Lucy's little "Deenk Ooo!" when I give her something is just adorable. And sometimes (or maybe a lot of times), they get into trouble because they don't do what their all-knowing-and-wise parents tell them to do. (I can't quite decide the level of sarcasm in my self descriptors there . . .)

Surely my Heavenly Father wants to hear the same from me, His daughter? He loves me infinitely and knows what I need, far better than what I need. He loves it when I ask Him for things. He lives it when I express my gratitude. He loves me despite my poor decisions and short-comings. And sometimes I wonder . .. do I act like a stubborn, tantrum-driven three-year-old to Him sometimes? That's some food for thought right there. ;)

Jesus taught:

Or what man is there of you, whom, if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, so ye even so to them. . . .

You may notice that this is one of the teachings found in the record of the Old World and the New World. Is it perhaps because there were parents in both audiences that needed to hear the parallel?

In speaking now of food (bread and fish, right?) and returning the favor, I now move on to my non-sequitur follow-up topic. That being ice cream.

Some of our dear dear friends in Magna would often invite a family over to their home for homemade ice cream and visiting on Sunday evenings. We were the recipients of their delicious desserts and fantastic friendship on more than one occasion. =) So when we moved, one of the first things we ordered online was our own ice cream maker. And we are "returning the favor" and inviting friends over for ice cream and visiting. And well, we love our ice cream maker so much, not every batch we makes ends up being shared with others. So far, we've had the Carlsons and the Muhelsteins over, and in a few minutes, our neighbors the Ellots are coming over for some delicious peach cinnamon ice cream with fresh peaches from our school orchard.

We might have filled this one just a bit too full. . . .

So if you're reading this, find some way you can "return the favor," whether it be to God or your fellow man.

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

P.S. We have some neighbors who are vegan. Anybody have any tried and true recipes for vegan ice cream or something equivalent?

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I am amazed at the things that Lucy learns from Laura. Lucy's vocabulary is booming, and she will repeat words, especially words of prayers, songs, or stories. She's just at that age where any word coming out of her mouth is the cutest thing ever.

They sometimes "argue" with the following dialogue:
LJr: No!
LSr: Yes!
LJr: No!
LSr: Yes!
. . . .and on and on until Laura either gets frustrated and hurts Lucy or Lucy starts laughing. It's so funny because Lucy is just being silly and saying a word she knows. However, Laura thinks Lucy is actually opposing her, so she gets into her frustrated argue phase.

Lucy gives super sweet kisses and folds her arms when she sees LSr do it. And Lucy LOVES to climb, mostly so she can be closer to whoever is sitting on the couch or on a chair. Wherever or whatever Laura is doing, Lucy wants to do with her. Lucy wants to play with the book or the toy that big sister is playing with, which leads to a few (or maybe several) altercations a day. Lucy likes to sit on the potty (fully clothed, mind you) because she sees Laura do it. Lucy follows Laura outside to play, and she wants to eat something every time LSr is eating something. Unfortunately, Lucy also learns naughty things like hitting and biting, but for the most part it warms my heart to see Lucy idolize and play with her big sister. This is why I'm so glad they're close in age .. .so they can be besties for life! =)

Here's some pictures of the kids, where in each instance, LJr wants to do what LSr is doing.

Sam's getting a facelift from big sis.

Lucy: There's room for me, right?

Just like Mommy.

And the video proof of LJr doing exactly what LSr does . . .

Bread

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. ~John 6:35

We're having the missionaries over for dinner tonight, like we do every Friday. I decided to be ambitious and try out a new recipe for some awesome homemade spaghetti. The sauce is looking and smelling fantastic so far. I have yet to try it (weird, I know), but Jacob says it's great.
Now for the garlic bread to go with it. Since I was planning on going hard-core with the sauce, I bought a bagged salad and was going to do some frozen garlic bread. But, since our local grocery store is itty bitty, they didn't have any. 

Plan 2: Toast up some bread and put butter and garlic salt on it. But .. .I used the last of our bread for my sandwich at lunch. 

Well, says I, let's go ALL OUT and make some breadsticks. This is very risky, folks. The few instances I've tried to make any sort of bread, I make a huge mess, the dough doesn't turn out right, and the finished product is so-so, leaving me and myself as a giant ball of frustration. Side note: This is why my husband is the bread maker in the family. Alas, he had his first school meetings this afternoon, which made the bread situation up to me. 

Let's do it.

Oh, but let's add to the mix a three year old.

>And you know what .. .it turned out alright! Thankfully we have a big table now, so Laura could just sit plopped up there while I sat in a kitchen chair. Granted, she didn't have any clothes on besides a shirt (that's the mom-laziness factor of not putting a diaper on after her last attempt on the potty), and we both made a huge mess. But, I decided I was going to have fun with this .. .and we did! I can see how I easily could have gotten frustrated and shooed Laura away, but I didn't. I think because of that I held myself in check better .. .I was more ok with the mess and the sticky goo-y dough because I wanted it to be a fun experience for me and my daughter. She was so good at pulling out a wad of dough and holding it in her hands. Once I was done shaping what was in my hands, she'd hand me her wad, "Here you go Mommy, another one!"

She also pretended to add salt, sugar, and milk ("This needs more salt. And milk. Sugar and milk. Yum!") And she called them "poopsticks" more than once (#facepalm #toddlerforthewin). When we were all done, she wanted to lick the bowl, so I let her. "Can I eat the flour? Yum!" My most favorite thing was when I said, "This is fun, huh?" and Laura said, "No, it's not fun. It's DANGEROUS!!"

Someday she will smile for pictures.

Home

I decided I want to be more regular in posting on my blog. I got the inspiration from reading Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson. (Side note: this is a great book, and an easy read in one day if you need something to read. It was a DI special =). Perhaps you've heard or seen of Stephanie-she is a popular LDS mommy blogger who had burns over 80% of her body in a plane crash. In her book, she explains that while she and her family were living on the East Coast, she felt really homesick for her family and friends in Utah, so she decided to start a blog to reach out to those she was no longer physically close to.  I was inspired by her dedication and love for motherhood, and like her, I have felt the everyday joys of being a mother to beautiful children.

While I live hours away from the closest family, I feel so at home right where we are. I don't feel homesick, but I do want a way to document to myself and others what home and motherhood is to me on a daily basis. We have made friends quickly here, and we love the low-key environment and close community. This is our sixth place where we've lived in our 4 years of marriage. Our first few homes that we lived in were each temporary, mostly because we were still in school and we didn't know where our post-school plans would take us. Because we didn't anticipate living in those apartments for very long, we were able to endure tight, old, dirty or inconvenient living spaces.

When we took our first job in Magna two years ago, we were excited to have a real job and be in the real world on our own. It was the biggest apartment we had ever lived in, and it felt huge to us. (And then we had two more kids there and started to feel just a bit cramped by the end. . . .) When I look back on those first few months there, I remember feeling mixed emotions. Even though we had a good home, I remember feeling a heavy weight of worry. Mostly I worried about three things: not having a car, having a baby soon, and not having home internet. In time, each of those situations worked out well for us, and the absence of those things taught me self-reliance. We had good friends there, and we were sad to leave.

But here-we felt right at home from the first day. This was really the first move we've had that had ward members help. Previously, we lived close enough to family that they helped us. When he got here, someone brought us dinner that first night, someone else watched the girls while we unpacked, and we had a neighborhood fire pit that night. Our kids love playing with the neighborhood kids here in the complex (often nicknamed "The Compound"), especially the Gosneys (Spencer, 9, James, 7, Carrie, 3, and Leah, almost 1) and the Muhelsteins (Joy, 4 and Ammon, 18 months). Laura plays outside every day, rain or shine (unless she's grounded). Jacob has a garden that he loves. Lucy is just happy wherever we are or whoever she's with. Sam gets cuddles and lovin' from all the soon-to-be-grandmas in the ward. We have 7 closets in our apartment. Jacob walks 100 yards to go to work. We walk across the street (and two cattle guards!) to church. We have the missionaries over every Friday for dinner.

Life is good. We are so happy here. And it feels like home. Magna felt like home, but I think it took a while for me to really feel like home there. Perhaps that was because of the lack of those things mentioned above, or perhaps because our closest friends there moved in after we had been there a year or so. This feels right. This is right. I thought I would miss Magna, and in a way I do. But now it's just one of those previous homes that carries wonderful memories. .. similar to the home I grew up in. I had wonderful times there and I will never regret living there, but right now I am where I need to be.

I've got two naked girls who need to go potty, and a baby who's crying, but I'll throw in a picture of the view from our kitchen window.

Until later--

This was during a thunderstorm, and you can barely see a rainbow in the picture. Isn't this beautiful?!