Discipline

Does anyone have any good strategies for helping a sweet but sometimes stinker of a two year old not hit? Cambria has turned into the "terrible twos monster" who hits Trevor on a regular basis and knocks poor Ethan over just because she feels like it. I've started time-out for two minutes in the corner for her but she doesn't really seem to care. (Trevor sure likes it though...he's so glad it's not him in trouble that he looks at her and just smiles while she's serving her time.) She's also started doing this thing where she just totally ignores me (and I know she can hear and understand) when I ask her to please do something or not to do something. She is still our sweet child but I think she's practicing her autonomy and it's making me crazy. So, now I have Trevor with a very indepenant personality and a one track mind, Cambria who makes the other two cry just because, and Ethan who scoots around on his bum everywhere he's not supposed to go, cleaning out anything he can open up and get into. Fun for me...{sigh}. It's just a good thing that they are so darn cute!

Happy Love Day!

Happy Valentines' Day! At our house we have been looking forward to this day all week. Cambria has been saying "Happy Valentines' Mom!" multiple times a day since Monday. Since Tyler had to be out of town this weekend, I decided we would do lots of fun kids kinds of stuff to celebrate this day. We were going to start the day with heart pancakes but then I discovered that we were mostly out of pancake mix. So instead we had scrambled eggs and bacon with juice. Then we made kids valentine cars...

The finished product...lots of fun to make and very easy!

After the cars were finished we went out and delivered them to Trevor and Cambria's friends in the neighborhood and in our ward. Trevor had so much fun giving them out he danced to each door and shoved the car into the faces of his surprised friends and shouted "Here, this is for you! I made it!" Then I had to remind him to say Happy Valentines' Day. As a mom it's very fun to watch the whole social interaction thing when the kids are 4 and 5 years old. It's awkward but they don't care one bit!
Trevor and I just finished building his new lego helicopter he got from Nana for Vday and is very excited...maybe now is the time to get some dishes and house cleaning done! Hope you all had a happy filled love day!

Random Thoughts

We are very excited for Valentine's Day at our house. Trevor keeps asking me if it's Saturday yet, and every time Cambria hears the word 'Valentine' she screams, "Happy Valentines' Mom!" as loud as she can. For FHE on Monday we had a family over with 2 older boys and 1 girl the same age as Trevor. Our lesson was on love and kindness and with the boys I wasn't sure how it was going to go but I think they had a great time because I pulled out all of my fun "crafty" things out and let them make their own valentines. There was marker and stamp ink everywhere, but they all made some great cards and I had a grand time cleaning up.

Last night was the first time I've had girls night out since I moved here from California. We went to Red Robin (yum!) and I had such a great time that when the check came, I signed my maiden name...haven't done that for awhile. I wonder if I was subconsciously remembering what it was like to be single.? I do love my family but it's just nice to get out once in awhile and have some girl time...last night was WAY over due!

My friend Aleece, the one pregnant with triplets, had her babies on Monday morning, early, and all three are doing great. They all weighed in at about 4 lbs., which is good considering a multiple birth and being born at 33 weeks. She is doing great...she is really amazing! I can't even imagine how overwhelmed I would be, but she is handling it so well. She has a five year old, a two year old, and three newborns...we'll be helping out alot with child care...

Bad Day

You know you're having a bad day when you have a black cloud as a constant companion no matter what you do. Yesterday was one of those days for me. I woke up with the black cloud and tried to shake it for awhile but then I realized it wasn't going to go away and then I was really grouchy. My patience level was at zero with the kids and my mom asked me what was wrong within the first minute of me being in her house. I HATE those days. They don't come around very often but when they do, everyone better stay away.

Today is better and it all started with an early alarm clock at 6:30 (yes, that's early for me) and a great workout. Go me! Still haven't missed a day of exercising, though yesterday came close. It's been three whole weeks and my clothes don't feel any different. {sigh} But I'm not giving up. I've decided to do a half marathon in June so there's lots of work to do to get ready. I'm excited but I've never in my life done anything like this so it'll be a new experience. The end result being some new clothes in a smaller size. :)

Here's a few more pictures from our photo shoot last week...

Photo Shoot

I finally have a picture with all three of the kids in it. It was painful...I want everyone to know. Trevor was pushing all my buttons and I was about ready to pound him, Cambria just ignored everything I said and Ethan wouldn't hold still. Pictures of little kids are so cute but SO NOT FUN!

This is the picture where I'm screaming "take the picture...I don't care if they're all crying!"

This one's better, but we're going to try again.

BTW, Our cute little kitty is growing up and this past week has been in heat so we wouldn't let her go outside. We told Trevor not to let the cat out because we didn't want her to have little kittens. So, he automatically decided that cats lay eggs and that's how we get little kittens. He was telling her "You can't go outside Maya, because we don't want to get your eggs out and have babies". I didn't correct him because I didn't want to have THAT discussion yet. He's only 4! However, I'm going to have to correct him soon or he'll be telling his friends that our cat lays eggs!

Fitness Update

I know I haven't blogged for awhile but I do have some good excuses...Tyler has had the computers down because he was "fixing" something. Now they're both back and I have much to catch up on. First, the exercising goal is going well. I've been able to keep my goal of 1 hour (about) a day and I'm eating better (but now that my metabolism is going I'm so hungry all the time!). Hopefully the hunger will fade but I'm committed to the exercise thing...Oh, and my scale is broken. :) Now I can't obsess over the numbers (which is actually better for me) and all I can do is keep working so my clothes fit better. GO ME! (Self pep talks sometimes work...).
Changing topics...the other day I was baking homemade bread and feeling proud of myself for being such a great mom and I turn to look out my window into the front yard and there is Trevor with his pants down around his ankels, peeing on a tree in the front yard for all the neighbors to see! His white bum and skinny legs were a sight to see...needless to say feeling like a great mom vanished quickly as I yanked the door open and yelled at him. {sigh} We all try our best and sometimes wonder what in the world happened, don't we? Trevor has been lectured countless times about going to the bathroom outside...but still he decides it's easier to just flash everyone and go where it's convienient. At least the upside is that he is still young enough to somewhat get away with it. I think the parenthood road is one continuous uphill climb.

Biting the Bullet

As much as I hate making this public and saying it out loud, I've made a goal for myself to lose 25 lbs. in the next coming months. That's right everyone, it's time for me to get the pregnancy weight off. So, I've committed to myself that I will exercise 5 times a week for at least an hour (including weighlifting) and will not be eating any sweets (except for one day a week) and watching portion sizes at mealtime. (Anya, I could use any suggestions for improvement or faster results). Now that I've said (typed) it you can all help to be my conscience. Ask me how I'm doing and help keep me motivated. Last time I dropped my pregnancy weight my sister in law, Jami, and I did it together and it helped me to stay motivated. This is a sensetive topic with me and it shouldn't be and I think talking to everyone else about it will help. Does anyone else have great ideas to get the weight off...I'm open to suggestions! So far, after a good workout yesterday, my body aches and my stomach thinks I'm hungry...a great start to a long journey!:)