Thursday, July 25, 2019

Staycation, Pioneer Day

The girls and I had a really fun staycation (mostly mermaid-themed). Some things we did:

library activity
reading mermaid books
mermaid art
playing Barbies
bubble bath
"oyster" cookies from Nilla wafers and chocolate pearls
dinner at Denny's
shopping
yard saling
sewing Barbie clothes
making/wearing mermaid shorts and a skirt

It was hard to sleep alone, and I ate way too much ice cream, but it was a fun time. Katie really needed the one-on-one time. She only had one small meltdown the entire time, which was great!

I didn't love Pioneer Day. I never love holidays that are just one day. I somehow forget that I don't really get holidays anyway, so when I have to do all my normal stuff, it feels a lot like drudgery. We tried going on a drive to get some wildlife pictures, but I got a little carsick on the dirt roads. The kids were also whiny and irritating, and at one point I really didn't know where we were. We kept trying to get back to the main road, but none of the shortcuts worked out, which was really frustrating and cost us extra time. Oh well. I got to sort of relax during the afternoon.

A couple things have been really frustrating the past week. All of them together have made me irritable. 1. The stupid duvet cover keeps bunching up, and it's too warm. James wanted to try one instead of a quilt. I hate it. I want my quilt back. In the mean time, my sleep has suffered. 2. One of my eyes is dry, which means I have to wear glasses. I do like glasses, but I like having the choice of contacts, and right now I don't. 3. Lewis and Katie constantly fighting ever since he came home.* 4. Samantha is teething and grouchy. She's also not very gentle with nursing, so she leaves tooth marks on me and IT HURTS. But it takes effort to teach her to use a cup, and I haven't done that yet. 5. It's freaking hot outside. Though that is normal for this time of year, I don't like feeling sticky all the time. 6. I still feel fat and gross, even though my weight has been very stable for the past few months. It just bugs me that not all my clothes fit well yet.

I'll make it, though. Right now I feel like I'm in a rut, but what I really need are some new goals since I have already finished most of my summer projects. August 1st in in 1 week, so I'm going to get there! One more week or being lazy and eating whatever I want. :)

*Joseph and Kenny stayed in Rexburg. We get them back on Saturday at reunion in Heber.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Princess Party, Fishing, Separate Vacations, Weaning

James and I went to see the new Spiderman movie on Thursday. We really enjoyed it.

On Saturday, I took Katie to a princess party. A couple of girls in my ward are starting a business to do princess parties, but this one was free. Katie loved it! We had treats, danced, and did makeup. I mostly talked to the other moms because I'm not much of a princess myself. ;)

James went with Devin to look for crawdads on Saturday night, but no luck. For Scouts on Tuesday, Joseph went fishing, but no luck there either. Oh well. There are some brand new little ponds especially meant for kids right near our house.We might have to visit more when we get the chance.

James and the boys left today for Rexburg. I thought about going but decided against it this time. It will only be the 2nd trip they've done without me. The last time was 4 years ago when I painted and carpeted the house. This time, I'm not alone. The girls and I are doing a mermaid-themed staycation. We're starting today by going to the library activity for some mermaid books. Later, we're going to make a mermaid skirt. The girls already have mermaid shorts from the leftover fabric from the sheet/curtains/pillowcase.

It's time to start weaning Samantha really soon! I've determined that I am going to lose this last 25 lbs. by my next birthday. I've really been "stuck" (or not trying) since my last birthday, so I've stayed the same for almost 4 months now. That is okay! I've realized that getting over my issues is THE most important thing to do before I can really let go of this extra poundage. I don't have any weight left from Samantha; this is all from Lewis. However, Lewis's birth and NICU stay left me traumatized for a while. I'm going to have to completely let go of it before I can let this weight go. It sounds silly, but I know that's what holding me back more than anything.

Did I mention that James is quitting mosquito abatement at the end of the season? I'm so excited! Two-ish more months to go!

Thursday, July 11, 2019

So Done With Summer

The title explains it all. We have run out of projects, it's started getting hot, and there is no end to the whining and fighting.

Send help!

On the bright side, this will be James's last year at mosquito abatement. We both thought it through, and we don't need the money. Also, we'd like to spend more time together in the summer. James is hardly ever home because of how much fogging he's had to do. When he is home, he's tired, and I don't blame him.

5 more weeks! We will make it through. Some days are just like that, even in Australia.

Thursday, July 4, 2019

Wedding, Baby Blessing, Anniversary, 4th

Everything went smoothly with the wedding on Friday. I don't know if I mentioned that James's cousin married my sister's best friend's sister from NC. It's a small world when you're a member of the Church. We hung out at Aunt Michelle's house before the luncheon, then checked into our Airbnb before the reception. It was a really nice place to stay, even though the AC wasn't working 100%. It was really clean and had an awesome view of Utah Lake.

The reception was really nice. I crashed afterward while James watched TV.

Saturday morning, we went to the Museum of Natural Curiosity in Lehi, then had lunch at a place called Slapfish. It was delicious! Mara, Ricky, and baby Emma were able to join us. Right after, we went to Cabela's, then to Mara's to swim and play in the splash pad. After that, we got some stuff at IKEA and had dinner there. Whew! We definitely crammed a little too much in one day. Lewis and Samantha were extra cranky by this time, but it did make bedtime a lot easier. Mara, Ricky, and Carmel came over to play a game. I loved getting to snuggle Emma since Samantha was already in bed. I never really got the chance with my other nieces because I either already had a baby or they lived far away at the time.

Sunday morning, we went to Mara's and took some pictures. We enjoyed a nice brunch, went to Emma's blessing, and then traveled home. It was mostly without incident, except that Katie threw up in the car. Ugh. We never had an issue with this until about 2 years ago, and now someone always gets sick. I hate it.

We got dinner and dessert for our 10th anniversary last night! I'm sad that our babysitter is going to be leaving soon for a job in another city. She has been really great.

The rest of the week has been spent catching up, mostly. The kids are starting to get bored of summer, and we're only halfway through. I still can't believe we've made it that far. No one can agree if they want to go to the parade or not, but we at least have a few small projects to keep us busy today.

Speaking of projects, I made my own doll dress pattern based on a dress of Katie's that we love. If it works out well, I'm going to post in on my new blog. I'm crossing my fingers, because it took a lot of math and measuring to try to figure it out.