I swear I'm bipolar or something.

Good crap.  What is wrong with me?  I have been the worst mother the last two days. I've been trying to find a culprit to this change in mood; overcast weather, overly whiny kids, bickering kids, poopy kids, messy house, not enough sleep, not enough protein, etc.  Blah.  
It seems Piper and Rosie are constantly fighting.  Rosie says at the store, "Ooooh! Apples! I love apples." Piper says, "They're not apples.  They're peaches." And then the back and forth bickering begins, "Nu-uh!" "Yu-huh!" to the point that they are starting to draw attention and their voices are escalating.  "Piper," I say, "read this.  A P P L E S."  She sounds it out.  She realizes her mistake, but she is not going to give up on this one. "Nu-uh!" "Yu-huh!" "MOMMMM!!!"  May seem stupid and like its not a big deal, except for they have been doing this about literally everything.  And because of my various excuses, my mood is not handling this very gracefully.  Piper asked me why I'm so grumpy, "Because my kids are driving me crazy!" I say.  That's great parenting, right there.   


My behavior towards my children for the last two days has reminded me of something I saw on Pinterest:  

Overall, I really do my best.  But I think there comes a time when its okay to submit to the negativity.  So today, after I told the girls they were driving me crazy, I sent them to the neighbor's to play, put Stoss down for a nap, and put on an episode of Lost. I just don't feel like being a mother today. Dysfunctional?  Maybe.  Funny?  Ask me later....but probably yes. :)

Busy Busy Busy

Easter weekend couldn't have been more beautiful. The weather was amazing, the kids did great in church, and I even managed to sew the girls skirts at the very last moment before church. I've been really busy running and trying to keep up the household and I certainly don't do everything perfectly, but lately I feel like we're thriving.
This summer might bring upon some change for us. My parents are buying a new home that will fit the whole family when we get together, plus a few investment homes. The house I grew up in will then be available, and we are debating renting it ourselves. There is a nice big yard, garden beds, and a few extra bedrooms. My heart is a little torn, though, I didn't realize how much I love our little townhouse. Maybe its just that it was our first *real house that we've made our own. We are working on a refinance for our mortgage and then we'll decide if moving would be the best choice for our family. Piper will be starting kindergarten this fall, and we've decided that if the move doesn't work out this summer then we should just stay where we're at, since we don't want to move her out of her school once she's started and established.

As for now I just have to be patient and see what summer brings us.

Suspiciously Happy

Today I feel weird.

Don't get me wrong, I feel AMAZING. Maybe it's the fact that my family has been sick for four weeks and we're finally back to normal. Maybe its this GLORIOUS spring weather. Maybe its that my children are finally on a good sleeping schedule, which is allowing me to have one as well. Or maybe its the fact that my house is pretty clean at the moment....or that I've lost 9 pounds in the last month (!!!!!!)

Who's to say?

But when I say I feel weird, I mean I don't know what to think; Is life really this great at this moment?

Or am I on a precursor to something horrible happening? Paranoid much? Yeah, probably. I always find myself being skeptical to such good luck and happy hormones, like its too good to be true.

For the sake of not ruining this fabulous day, though, I'm going to assume that LIFE REALLY IS THIS GREAT.

At least for now :) Happy spring, every one! We made it!

Stupid

I never wanted to be one of "those" girls. You know the type. Giggly, cliche, won't be seen without makeup and uses slapping and pushing as a form of flirting. I have always thought myself of being more than that...or maybe just more real than that.

But I'm not. But just because of one thing.


Vampires.

Vampires are so freaking hot. Yes, I must shamefully admit that I have a weakness for the seductive, blood sucking, rebellious type. First it was Twilight. I became obsessed to the point where every fancy car I saw or every rainy day would bring my mind racing back to Forks.


My little sister, Savannah, then told me to watch the CW show, Vampire Diaries. I rolled my eyes. "Is it exactly like Twilight?" I asked....and if the answer was yes I would definitely NOT be watching it. Not because I was sure I wouldn't like it, but because I wasn't one of "those" girls. "Yes," she said, "but its better!" I rolled my eyes again.


So when I was browsing through Netflix one night, not knowing what to waste my brain on next, I thought I'd give it a try. Before I knew it, I was even more in love with the vampires in this show than I was with the Twilight ones. I am so stupid.

I am one of those stupid, cliche, giggly girls when it comes to vampires.

Take me as I am.



What's your guilty pleasure?

Dear Flu, I hope you step on a Lego. (Nothing personal)

Its about time I write another blog post, and yes I do tend to procrastinate, but this time I actually have a good reason for slacking.

The flu.

I'm pretty sure this wasn't just the normal flu, though. It was like....death and hell combined and attacked, full force. There we were, enjoying the warmth of the St. George sun, spending a weekend celebrating my baby sister's wedding,

....when suddenly and violently, Rob and I were both struck with an achy fever. Tylenol and Ibuprofen kept the pain at bay to get us through the festivities, but then Rosie and Stoss started in on it too. Four out of the five of us drove home in a daze, with chesty coughs developing and headaches throbbing. After the four hour drive, we decided to drive straight to the Instacare (is it just my family, or do sicknesses only come on weekends?) We got the privilege of paying our ridiculous $40 copay--per person--fee, and walked out with the knowledge that we all had the flu and there was nothing the doctor could do to help us. Oh, and Stoss had an ear infection to boot!


Awesome. Well, at least Piper was feeling ok so far. So far. But by the time we got home, she had spiked a fever of 104 and was feeling awful along with the rest of us. Two days went by, the nights were long and restless. Three days, four, five. Rob and I were finally done with our fevers by day five. Here we are, though, on Rosie's 3rd birthday, one full week after the onset of this horrible sickness, and she's still burning up as soon as the medicine wears off.

Will this never end?!

So, needless to say, we kept her birthday kind of low key. We did go up to Thanksgiving Point and visit the animal farm, and I think that was really good for the kids to finally get out of the house.
I'm determined that this next week is going to be better. We will spend more time outside, less time in front of the tv, and back on the diet we go! AND! The first day of spring is in three days, so I'll have to think of something fun to do to celebrate! The weather has been so beautiful lately and I've even noticed some green things budding in my front yard garden. Relief is on it's way!

Invisible Children

Meet Joseph Kony.

He is the leader of the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army), kidnapper, murderer, and rapist of thousands of children. He has no objective, only to have power. After taking young children from their parents and homes, he forces them to join his child army, kill at his will, and be his sex slaves. This man must be stopped, and so I am doing what little I can to spread the word and raise awareness to make these Invisible Children, visible. Please take the time to watch this video and spread the word. Then sign the pledge here and order your action kit here.

Kony 2012. This is the year.

I just wanted to do a brag post about how amazing I feel. So, if you've read my blog lately you know that I've started a new diet in conjunction with a half marathon training program. I paid big bucks for the best quality vitamins out there (manufactured by Usana), have been solid on my low-glycemic diet, and I feel so great! My mood is nice and steady, my energy is great throughout the whole day with no mid-afternoon crash, I'm a nicer mom, life is good! Also, I have struggled with a gluten intolerance for the past forever, and since by nature this low-glycemic diet has very little gluten, my digestion has been a beauty! But not really....'cause we all know what poop looks like and its not really beautiful.....ok. I didn't have to go there. Forgive me. Before I started this new lifestyle, it wasn't uncommon for me to "crash" up to four times a day, feeling severe exhaustion and needing to lay down. I would get so annoyed when my kids would ask anything of me because it was all I could do to just sit on the couch and keep my eyes open. It seemed like my stomach was always a bit bloated, too. Just generally uncomfortable and gassy. I feel so much better now! I'm super excited for Saturday when we have another Usana meeting with this weight loss group I'm a part of. I hope things keep getting better and better :)

Tip of the day:

Ta ta!