2-year old, going cheap!

He's pretty cute, huh. I should probably change the title of this post before Child Protective Services comes to get me. 

Well, anyone want a 2-year old?  He's cute, has sweet blue eyes, loves animals, loves trains, loves Elmo and Thomas, is super smart, and gives great kisses. I feel as if I should warn you about his few faults: he screams like a howler monkey many times a day, has stopped saying "yes" altogether (it was "yesh"), hates to be put to bed, hates to get out of bed, hates to eat when he's supposed to, begs to eat when we can't, bosses his older brother and sister around, wants to swing on swing for hours, thinks every toy in the house is his.....are you getting the drift? 

I have never had a really bad "terrible two" kid. Parker was awful at three, Emi at four, but you COULD sort of reason with them. This is unreal. Today has been legendary bad. He had 4 time-outs and 5 tantrums in the first 45 minutes of my day. It seems that the more I sit down with him and give him undivided attention, he becomes bossier and even more demanding. 

I know, I know....what am I doing having a fourth? I'm asking this same question right now. GRRRRR!

I will take any and all advice on keeping 2 year olds calm. I love this little strong-willed creature, but he's wearing me down! I don't mean to be a complaining person, just venting and seeking advice.

Scary Signs of Spring

I love spring! I love taking walks with Quinn, who is enthralled with everything outdoors. I love wearing shorts again. I love pushing Quinn in the swing, even though he would literally swing for hours at a time as high as he could. Not a fan of yard work, but I can stand it in the spring. I love that my recital is nigh and there is a finish line in sight. 

However.....there is a sign of spring at our house that is unwelcome. I won't post a pic, as it is too gross. We know it's spring when our neighbor starts living on his porch. My kitchen looks right out on it because it is raised up. He is semi-retired and lives on this porch. I have no problem with that, except for the fact that he LOVES to come out shirtless in the mornings and sun himself. We call him the "Shirtless Wonder". At night, he and his wife,  sit on the porch before their dinner and savor expensive wines. There was a Saturday Night Live skit with Rachel Dratch and Will Ferrell called "The Lovers", based on an older, intellectual couple. That is what we call them. It's quite annoying when we are rushing around crazy-like with our kids. On the other side of our house, there is an older couple that we really like. However, they have a hot tub that they like to enjoy in the morning. I stare in jealousy as I rush around trying to get the kids out the door. 

There are million kids in our neighborhood...why do I live next to two houses of people that can slow down and relax all day? 

Week-O-Fun

Well....it seems like forever, but my kids are back in school after a LONG, but eventful, Easter Break.

Wednesday: After sleeping over at Grandma's house, all the kids took a field trip to the Children's museum with Grandma and Grandpa. Of course, they had a ball and spent most of their time in the helicopter

Thursday: A quiet morning at home (they all looked through books forever...whoa!), a trip to Target, and Easter egg coloring. Parker and Emi were quite patient and diligent with their eggs this time. Not so much with Quinn. We were lucky enough to be invited to our neighbor's Passover dinner. He and his wife have gone to church with us and did the temple open house with us, and we have done Hanukah and now Passover. It was very interesting to read through the prayers and such and try all the new food. Very fun, though Quinn was a pill.

Friday: We woke up early and cruised to Zion's National Park for the day. I had a nasty cold, but I'm so glad we went. Did some beautiful, kid-friendly hikes. Quinn screamed through the aptly named"Weeping Rock" hike (are you getting that he is hard right now?) because he has discovered his independence from the backpack. Everything is "self" right now. 

(weeping rock....no Quinn)

We ran into a zillion human-friendly squirrels that required naming. It was all we could do to have them not pet the rabies-infested creatures. Once I explained shots in the stomach, that helped keep hands away. That night, we dined at the oh-so-classy Village Inn (everything was crowded and I was starving!).
Saturday: We woke to rain in St. George, so we swam in the indoor pool, checked out the St. George Tabernacle, and did a run-through of their Arts Festival. Then it was off to In-n-Out (along with the rest of the city) before we drove home. Seriously...the inside line went around the store, and there were 22 cars in line for the drive-thru. BUT, I placed the order within 8 minutes...amazing. Quinn loved the burger. Can't wait for ours to come to Draper.

Sunday: Visit from the Easter Bunny. Quinn loved hunting for egss. Emi got a pink soccer ball, Parker got a Star Wars lego set, and Quinn got a bug lantern. 
We quickly dressed for church and got these pictures. Just so you know, 15 minutes before this pic was taken, Emi somehow spread toothpaste in her hair. I had to shower her, blow her hair, curl it, and dress her. Easter miracle.
Later that day was another fun-filled Easter egg hunt at Grandma Newman's house. A great dinner, followed by a sad (but not shocking) announcement from my uncle that he was marrying again.... for the 9th (not a typo) time. Sad. That's a post for another day. Oh the excitement never ends in my extended family.
Monday: Last day of school out, so we basically hung around, played with friends, played outside and did yardwork. 

Back to normalcy.......

My Groove is SOOOO gone....

Well, I'm officially in my second trimester. Shouldn't this signify the end of morning sickness? Not necessarily true in my case, but I'm remaining hopeful and positive. Well, the past 14 weeks have essentially sucked the life right out of me. I have quite literally just been surviving,  just trying to maintain. No projects have been done, I'm way behind on getting my recital done, and nothing has been seriously scrubbed in my house for awhile...don't even get me started on my scrapbook. Emi reprimanded me for not getting her curtains up. I feel bad. 

So....here is my goal of how I'm going to get my groove back. It's SOOOOO gone right now:

1. I might attend the gym. Shocking! Last time I did (5 weeks ago) I got so sick that I spent the time in the bathroom and the cafe eating a bagel. Real helpful.
2. I will turn on happy music while I clean and do boring house jobs. This always helps.
3. I will spend more time outside with Quinn. The poor kid stared at all the snowy days last week and kept saying, "Boots...boots...boots." No luck. I was not going out in a blizzard.
4. I will try to extend my day past 7:30 p.m., even  on days that I teach. This is when I can get to all my piles of work.
5. I might even allow my husband to take me on a date....hasn't really been practical these last few weeks. I was a zombie by.....7:30. 
6. I'm going to declutter the kids rooms. I run the risk of doing this while they are home for easter break, but it's almost better than them discovering I've thrown out a toy they love (even though they haven't played with it in 3 years). It's good for them. 

Well, that's a good list for now. Wouldn't want to become too cool too soon. Watch out, world.....I'm back!