Mamma Mia

My friend Lisha tagged me for some questions on motherhood. I really appreciated Elder Ballards talk in conference this past weekend...as I imagine many of you mothers did. He said that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. He couldn't have said it better. I have never experienced anything more joyful than some of the joys I've experienced as a mother. But as he said, the joy comes in moments. Minute for minute, there are a lot more moments of struggle than moments of joy. It's a good things those moments of joy are so fantastic. Those few moments far outweigh the trials of motherhood.

1. Typically what time do you wake up? At about 6:30 by a yell..."Can you please wipe my bum?!!!" That seriously happens every morning. Weird kid.

2. On a good night what time are your kids in bed? 7:45. We're pretty consistent. They're rarely in bed past 8:00. I need that. If I have to deal with a kid past 8:00, I lose it.

3. How long have you been a mom? Four years come July.

4. How old were you when you became a mom? 22...do the math. I know...kids have aged me fast. My friends tend to be a few years older than me. Not that a few years matters at all...we're all in the same age bracket now. And I tend to make friends with moms who still have kids at home, regardless of age. But I am frequently mistaken for older than I am. I just don't have the life of a typical 26 year old. On my 25th birthday my 37 year old visiting teacher came over with a treat and asked how old I was. She was surprised and thought I was close to her age. Thanks. Although, when I was 18 and mistaken for a 20-22 year old...I thought it was kind of nice. I always dated guys much older than me. Spencer, for example, is almost 31.

5. What is your favorite kid TV show/movie? I am really hesitant to admit this, but I am secretly happy when my kids pick the Wiggles. I can sing and dance along to every song. Embarrassing, I know. I also like Dan Zanes.

6. What is your least favorite kid TV show? Thomas the Tank Engine, Calliou, Veggie Tales and Dragon Tales. Actually, this list could go on and on and on. I'll stop there.

7. What is your favorite chore? The kind of chore my kids can do. I can't wait until they're old enough to do the dishes and clean their own mess in the bathroom. Actually, it's probably mowing the lawn, if I have to choose. It's the lesser of all the evils. I'm just not the kind of person who finds joy in cleaning.

8. What is your favorite meal to cook? Anything in a crock pot. I can make it during nap time or when it's convenient and voila, it's magically ready at dinner time.

9. What is the meal you cook most often? Tostados, burritos, tacos, quesadillas... any simple Mexican food.

10. What is your kid’s favorite meal? Hot dogs, bologna, peanut butter and jelly, Spiderman mac and cheese, beans from a can....you know, any of the finer foods in life. And for Gray...Soy Formula and anything in a baby food jar. That kid seriously downs anything. When I introduced vegetables this week, he didn't flinch or pull any kind of face...he just downed them like a champ. He'd been eating fruit. I thought he would have been more surprised.

11. What is your favorite thing your husband does with your kids? He is responsible for the kids from the time we say goodnight until him and I go to bed. So if they keep running down the hall or need a drink or a bandaid or vaseline or any of the strange things they ask for, Spencer is responsible and I just sit my lazy self on the couch.

12. What are 5 things that make you smile when you're being a mom? It's tough to limit..

The sound of children's laughter. To me, that's probably the best thing about motherhood.

I LOVE to listen to kids say prayers.

When they choose to share or play nicely.

It's great when they learn something new. Even better when I was the one who taught it to them.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, to hear them sing...especially when they get the words wrong or have no idea what the words mean. So cute.

13. If you could take your kids anywhere where would it be? I have had this uncontrollable desire to take my kids to Disneyland lately. It's just so magical for kids. I have to take them before they grow up.

14. When was the last time you went out without your kids? Out of my mind? Only moments ago. Out of the house? I don't know. I grocery shop by myself these days. Really, my life revolves around the crazies and if I don't get out to do something a little more fun than grocery shopping soon, I'm going to crack. If you ask Spencer, he'd probably tell you I already have cracked.

15. What is your favorite past time/activity to do with your kids? I enjoying tying them up and locking them in cages just as much as the next mom does. Before you call Child Protective Services on me, I really enjoy our dance parties.

16. Name 1 thing you said you'd never do as a mom. My answer will be the same as Lisha's...Day care. Getting a babysitter is just fine, but leaving them all day in Day Care is not for me.

17. What is your favorite quality that your mom has? My mom is a good friend and listener and always puts her kids first. Like she'll call me on the phone after she had something really big going on...like a job interview or something. She'll listen to me whine and validate my feelings for like 10-20 minutes before she even brings up her big news. If I were a little less selfish, maybe I'd remember to ask.

18. What is your advice for new moms? Two words...bottle feed. I know this is not going to be a popular answer, but not being the only one who has to get up in the night is fantastic. I don't have to carry my kid every where I go because he needs to nurse. I've never had to pump or accidentally expose myself to unsuspecting onlookers. Formula fed babies are better sleepers. I've just had so much more freedom. When I was pregnant with Parker I discussed my lack of desire to nurse with my doctor. She said the best thing for the baby is a happy mother. I've clung to that little piece of advice through the years. I don't think I could make it through motherhood if it weren't for formula.

19. What is the scariest or most heartbreaking moment as a mom? I guess my situation is unique, but amputation was a little scary. I'm also nervous for when my kids get older. I think it will be hard when they get made fun of, picked last or left out. That will be heart breaking for me.

20. What is your most joyful moment of being a mom? Seriously it's seeing them sleep...all three of them. Kids are so sweet when they're sleeping. Can anything get cuter than that? Sleeping anywhere...on the floor, in the car, in their bed. It's amazing that something so active could ever be so calm. Plus, I'd have to say that a break from chasing them around and cleaning up their messes can be quite joyful.

21. When was the last time you were told 'I Love You' by one of your kids? Parker was practicing his telephone skills this morning. I called him on my cell. He can't end a phone conversation without a "Goodbye, I love you."

22. I tag: The Corona High girls. Our friendships all began pre-motherhood. I'd love to know more about you all as mothers. So that would be Erin, Jeanine, Jessica, Kim and Traci.

The Name Game

So I've been tagged. How did my crazies get their names? I wish I had really cool stories about my kids names. We liked them. That was it. The biggest argument of our marriage is over kids names. If we can agree, it's good enough. I'm not the kind of person who can refer to a child by name while still in utero. I have to see a child before I can settle on a name. My kids names were never set in stone until it's time to leave the hospital. I luckily don't care about the meaning of names. For me, they don't really have any bearing on personality. My name, for instance, means 'pure'. Right. And my kids have some doozies. I'll include them for fun.


Parker Braden:
Parker: park keeper
Braden: broad, wide

With Parker, I didn't find out if we were having a boy or a girl. But both of us were so sure it was a boy that Spencer said if it was a girl, I could name her. We put all our efforts into boys names. It was then that we found out what a disagreement this would be for us. I wanted Garrett. Spencer wanted Christian. We explored the option of family names but again, we couldn't agree. My great-grandfathers middle name was Park, which led me to Parker, but I wouldn't consider him named after my great grandpa Stowell. We were pretty set on Parker about a month or two before he was born. But a middle name continued the arguments. We really liked Reid, but decided we liked it too much to waste on a middle name. Spencer loves the name Braden. I finally agreed on checkout day at the hospital.



Reid Callin:
Reid: red-haired, red
Callin: dove, slender

This was our hardest for sure. You'd think it would have been easy since we didn't use Reid for Parker's middle name for that very purpose. We had a friend in college named Reid who was about the coolest guy there ever was. He had a great fashion sense. He was nice to everyone, even the geeks, despite how cool he was. He told great stories and he was ever entertaining. He really shaped the way I viewed the name Reid. But I started to really like the name Gavin. We vacillated between Reid and Gavin clear up until it was time to leave the hospital. We couldn't call him anything for a couple of days. Reid finally became the front runner, and then we fought over the spelling. Spencer won. I planned to spell it Reed. So the obvious choice was to use Gavin for the middle name. We planned on it (either Reid Gavin or Gavin Reid). Then in the hospital I decided I liked it too much. We should save Gavin in case we have another boy. I worked with a kid named Callin (but spelled differently) back when I worked for the school district. He was a top notch kid. I liked the name. Again, I wish I would have saved it for a first. I love it.



Grayden Clark:
Grayden: gray-haired, pleasant
Clark: man of learning, clerk

Again, you'd think we should just use Gavin. That's what we saved it for, right? It never seemed to fit for me this time. Spencer refused to discuss baby names this time around. It was within a week of his birth that we came up with Grayden. Both Grady and Grayson were on our list of names we liked. And Spencer always complains that we used Braden for a middle name. He loves it. So about a week before he was due, we were watching none other than Thoroughly Modern Millie with the dashing Trevor Graydon. We heard Graydon and it just clicked. It combines all the other names we like. We still can't decide if we should call him Gray or Grady. We call him both. I wanted to spell it with an 'o.' Spencer convinced me that it looks too much like a last name and he won on spelling again. Clark comes from Dr. Seuss. I think it was the day before I was scheduled to be induced. We were reading Dr. Seuss and the line was, "Look what we found in the park in the dark. We will take him home. We will call him Clark." We looked at each other and immediately knew. It was perfect. Besides that, the young men in our ward always liked to point out that our kids had superhero names (Peter Parker - Spiderman and Reid Richards - Mr. Fantastic). Clark just fit...Superman. We seriously weren't set on naming our kids after superheros, but it's funny it turned out that way. Although this name took us the longest to come up with, it was the first time we went into delivery fairly certain on what we would name the kid. I second guessed myself with this name for probably a whole month after we named him. A lot of people didn't like it. And people always make us repeat ourselves when we say it. It seemed fairly normal to me. Similar to Braden, Hayden, Aiden and I even know a Rayden. Grayden just didn't seem that different. Someone even asked if we were from Utah because Utah people always pick weird names. Regardless, I'm happy with it.

Our boys all have last names for firsts. They sound like a law firm..."From the law offices of Parker, Reid & Grayden." Three boys in a row got a little rough. We were seriously running out of things to agree on. And neither of us have ever convinced the other to use Garrett or Christian. We'll see what the future has in store.

I know a lot of stories behind my friend's kids names. But not everyone. I tag Autumn, Amanda, Jessica and Crystal.

Let it Spring! Let it Spring! Let it Spring!

Who doesn't love the spring? I dare you to find me someone. Now that we're into the second week of April, spring is in full force and I think we're all enjoying it. I love the changing of seasons no matter what the season is, but spring is the most exciting. Time for new life after the doldrums of winter. Let me list you a few reasons:

• General Conference happens every spring. What a great weekend.

• Color! I love that the there is so much natural color in the world right now.

• The sun comes out from hiding.

• Open-toed shoes. Yes! Let those toes breath!
  

• Bulbs. Tulips, daffodils, iris, hyacinths. You name it, I love it. I remember spending a spring break in DC one year. The tulips out there were divine. Maybe I'll have to plan a trip to Holland one spring.

• Speaking of DC...Jessica has recently reminded me of the Cherry Blossoms out there. Beautiful. I love that trees flower in the spring.

• Easter. Easter is such a beautiful holiday.

• Flying kites. I can't tell you how much time I've spent untangling kite string already this year. I love it.

• Neighborhood kids are out on their bikes.
  

• People seem to be happier...love is in the air.

• New life.

• Warm weather.
• Picnics.

• Getting out of the house and playing outside.

• Longer days.

• Bright colored clothes.

• Yet another year that long shorts are in fashion and can be found at any store worth shopping at.

• Opening my windows and letting the breeze blow on through.

• Spring smells good.
• Sidewalk chalk.

• Outings to the park.

• Washing your car in the driveway.

• Yard work...which I only enjoy the first couple times in the spring.

I feel like I have a million more reasons that just aren't coming to mind. I'm a little out of sorts this morning...but that doesn't stop me from enjoying springtime.

Meet Brittnee...

Flashback Friday

Since Brittnee's birthday is tomorrow, I thought it appropriate to highlight her.

Brittnee is my cousin. Aren't cousin's the greatest? I seriously love that relationship. Closer than friends, but not so close that you fight all the time. And you get to be friends with all kinds of people. Brittnee grew up in Arizona and me in Cali. We wouldn't have known each other if we had not been cousins. I have no sisters so this is an important relationship for me.

My friendship with Brittnee was especially crucial during my teenage years. We were such good friends. During my junior year, I'm sure we saw each other at least monthly. It was a 50 minute plane flight or a five hour drive. We knew each other's friends. Britttnee even showed up in my high school year book...with her name in the caption and all. And it's not like I went to a small high school. It helps that she went to prom with one of the most popular boys in school. That's right. One of my friends asked her to prom. And he was on prom court. I don't remember if he won prom king or not.

We have shared all kinds of secrets. Got into all kids of trouble. Slept in a bathroom. Gone to AFY together. Started our own club...BOA (Babes Of America). Shared a bra (a story for another time). Partied together. Stayed up way past late. Went to prom together (not together, together, but in a group). Made videos of just about everything. Written songs. Been to concerts. Were followed by a mime. Sewed skirts. Sewed hideous matching dresses and wore them to church. Ran through the park sprinklers in the wee hours of the morning. Shopped. Played pranks. Danced. Ate Grandma Sycamore's bread (no, that's not our grandma). Dressed in outrages costumes...even in public places. Laughed 'til we cried. And now we're having kids at roughly the same time. After all that, it hardly seems we should be allowed to have kids.

We don't keep in contact like we used to. We definitely don't see each other monthly. But Brittnee is pretty good about calling.

Happy Birthday!

I had a really hard time limiting these pictures...I have SO many of our crazy shenanigans.

Katie and Brittnee...the early years. (and Mike, too.)



Grandma's infamous tub.



My mom made us these lovely outfits.


Check out the acid wash jeans.


We put on a show on my back patio...we were like 14.





Orange County Fair Photo Booth

Your Sweet 16 Birthday Bash



The next set of black and white pictures were all taken the same day. I don't remember who took the pictures or how we convinced someone to follow us around with a camera for an entire day. And why did we decide these weird things were important to have pictures of? Regardless, they're fun to have. They sum up our relationship well.


I laugh my head off every time I see this one.





Don't worry, no one took this one. We set the camera on a tri-pod. We only had one picture left on the roll and this is what we decided to do with it. It was LATE at night and we swore we'd never show anyone. So much for that. It's now posted on the internet.



Right before a dance.


Another failed pyramid.




For anyone who's wondering, the boy with his arm around me and the major sock tan is my brother, Mike.



AFY...no that's not a typo. It's Adventures For Youth.



Just hangin' out by the pool.

Thanks for the good times!

You Know You're A Blogger When...

The primary sends out a newsletter every month and in it, they spotlight one of the teachers. I was filling out a spotlight questionnaire on Sunday. The dreaded question came up. What are your hobbies? Hobbies? What are those? Oh, something you do it your free time. Free time? What is that?

Really. I hate that question. The first thing that came to mind was blogging. How lame is that? When I have free time, I spend it at the computer. What are my hobbies? Let's see...playing superheroes? Building train tracks? Pretending to be an astronaut on a mission to Mars? Certainly not. Love making? Perhaps, but it's a primary newsletter and besides, it's more than obvious. We had three kids in three years. If I had all the free time in the world, I'd go to school with out a question. But is going to school a hobby?

I think I ended up writing something like blogging, sewing and table setting. But it makes me sound really lame. And I'm only kind of lame. I wanted to lie and write that I was a skateboarder, a novelist and a professional chef. And that I'm training for my 12th marathon. And that I star on Broadway and teach college classes in my spare time. And spend my summers in South America working in orphanages. That I'm a world traveler and speak 8 languages. But no, I blog, sew and table set.

What do you all write? Does anyone have any really cool hobbies? Or any way to make my hobbies sound really cool?

One day, I plan to write something really cool when asked what are my hobbies. But for now, you can all thank me for choosing to blog in my spare time.

Do You Play Croquet?

The one good thing I've found about my primary calling is how easy it is to plan Family Home Evening lessons. My kids are only slightly younger than the kids I teach. I simplify and give the abbreviated version of my lesson. And they love the activity. Nice huh?

Last night the weather was so nice and Spencer's class was canceled so we pulled out our croquet set. I bought it for Spencer for his birthday or Father's Day or something after we had only been married a month. We don't use it often, but when we do, you can guarantee fun times. Although I get a little irritated because Spencer always wins. Just as I had said these words out loud last night, I hit a lucky shot across the field, through two loops, and hit the post to win the game. I don't count on that happening again. Spencer's a pro.

Gray did join us outside, although not in the game. He got no pictures. He was wearing the ugliest outfit known to man and I don't want photo's to document it.







***Spencer...the boys got equal photo sharing this time. I did it for you.