why wait?

I got a package in the mail today from my sweet, sweet sister, Stephanie.  In it, among other things, was some of Ella's old clothes for Scarlett to wear.  Scarlett's eagerness was apparent as she promptly stripped down so she could wear one immediately.  I thought to myself, "Silly girl.  It's impossible for her to wait long for anything."

Then...I pulled out some new fabulous silver sandals for me.  As I was stripping down in my bedroom to change into an outfit that matched the new kicks, I realized something.

Guess we know where she gets it, huh?

formspring! formspring! formspring!

yay! yay! for new questions!!!

I'm in a funk--how do you keep motherhood "fun"?

Whenever I find myself in a mama funk (which is very, very often ;) I just try to shake things up a bit.  My biggest resources are holidays.  Having something to look forward and something to help the kids get excited makes this whole stay-at-home-with-the-kids-and-clean-the-house thing a whole lot more bearable.  So, I celebrate holidays whenever possible.  Sometimes that means adopting holidays that aren't "officially" mine. (but whose counting? ;)  Mardi Gras is a perfect example of this.  It's soooo not really my holiday.  I wasn't raised in the deep south, I'm not Catholic, heck, I don't even like to get drunk and flash strangers.  However, after a couple of trips to Mobile, Alabama to visit my sister and her family, I fell in love with the holiday.  I decided to make it mine.  Now, to distract myself from the post-christmas doldrums, I have Mardi Gras celebrations to plan and look forward too.  I've made it my own.  If there's not a holiday coming up, then you make one.  Plan an end-of-school party or a first day of Summer party.  Now, when I say party, I don't mean an actual party (I avoid real party-planning like the plague), I mean a dancing, sugar cookie-frosting, theme-food celebration with just me and the kids.  Something small, but something to look forward to.  My new thing is printing off the free 16x20 subway art from eighteen25 to help celebrate with (it also prints off fine in a 8x10 size).  Nothing makes me feel more festive then seasonal decorations :)

Hope that helps!

I want to know how the devil you are so thin when you've had 4 kids so close together? How much weight did you put on with each pregnancy and how did you manage to get it off (eating and exercise habits etc.)?

First off-I feel like a brat for even getting this question, let alone answering it.  Hence I've been putting it off for.ev.er.  Just so you know.

In short...I forget to eat, mixed in with a dash of genetics, I suspect.

To more fully answer your question, though:

I gain anywhere from 35-45 lbs per pregnancy.  Ezra was my biggest gainer, followed by Georgia's pregnancy.  I suspect that with each pregnancy I get a little more stressed and busy, so I eat a little less.  Also, with Ezra I had hoooorible morning sickness.  At first it made me lose weight because I couldn't keep anything down, regardless of what or how often I ate.  Finally, at about 23 weeks, I started to be able to avoid throwing up if I ate small, consistent meals.  Unfortunately, I had to do that almost constantly, hence the large weight gain.

As for getting the weight off...that's a little tricky to answer.  I do try exercise, but I don't get around to it very much and it's fairly sporadic when I do.  I've had some dietary restrictions while nursing 3 of my 4 kids due to suspected food allergies.  With Ezra and Oak I was off dairy from about 2 months old until I weaned.  Georgia I was off dairy, soy, and nuts (yes, it was as horrible as it sounds).  That definitely aids in the weight-loss, although I still manage to squeeze a fair amount of non-dairy sugar into my everyday diet :P.  With Scarlett, though, I didn't have any restrictions and the weight was a little slower in coming off, although it all did eventually.

Honestly, I think my biggest weight loss aid is my ADD.  I've long suspected I have ADD and as I've researched it and watched one nephew after the other being diagnosed with it, it's just confirmed those suspicions.  With my ADD, I just simply forget to eat.  I get distracted trying to feed the kids, check my email, clean the kitchen, and rotate laundry all at the same time.  When one is trying to do all those things at once, there's just not room to squeeze in lunch.  When I do eat, it's something I grab and stuff in my mouth as I'm off to something else.  I can't tell you how often I start to make myself lunch and don't remember to return to it for hours.

Sorry, I'm really not much help.  The older I get, the more I'm trying to eat better and exercise more consistently.  When I had Ezra, I just wanted the weight off.  Now, I just want to be healthy.

go big or go home

When you walk into the kitchen to find this...

this is about the only thing you can do...

Why, oh why, am I not surprised that when Scarlett passed the self-trimmed hair rite of childhood she went all the way and chopped off a full third of her hair?

Go big or go home, right?

Hosanna

I remember the day the Kansas City Temple was announced.  It was October, 2008.  We still lived in Oklahoma while Spencer was getting his masters degree at Oklahoma State.  He had a job fair coming up and most of the jobs we were seriously interested in were in Kansas City.  I remember discussing it as a definite perk that Kansas City would be getting a temple of it's very own in the not-too-distant future.  Fast-foward three and a half years...we now live here (in our very first home too!) and absolutely adore the area and the people who surround us.  We've been so blessed to live in this area while it prepares for a temple.  My children have received testimonies of their own of the importance of temples and my own has been so strengthened.  It brings tears to my eyes every time I hear my kids talk about how they're going to get married in their temple one day.

We were so lucky to get to take our little family not once, but twice, through the Kansas City Temple Open House. The first time was when Spencer's parents came out to visit (Spence's dad served his mission in the Kansas City area and was so darn excited to see a temple here) and once when my sister, Stephanie, and her family came down from Indiana and my brother, Mack came up from Oklahoma to go through it.  It was such a great experience for all of us.  The a.m.a.z.i.n.g. snickerdoodles we got to eat at the end of the tour were a definite perk too ;) (seriously.  what is their recipe?)

Now...onto the pictures!

  A very content Oakie and Mama

 Our less-than-stellar attempt at a (3 of the 4) sibling picture

Ezzie boy

(so, funny random story: before we got in the temple Ezra decided to sit on the very wet, muddy grass, leaving a huge muddy spot on his bum and sweater vest.  Needless to say, I was worried about him sitting and brushing up against things the entire time.  As soon as we got out of the temple he somehow got a streak of mud across his sweater (as seen in the picture above).  Can someone please explain to me how my son managed to get mud on *both* sides of his body while visiting the cleanest, whitest place on earth?)

The Girls

The Boys

Daddy and Oak

Miss Georgie with our beautiful much-anticipated brand-spankin'-new temple

 

The ever-gorgeous ever-hairy Miss Scarlett

Our not-so-fabulous family shot.  that's ok, though.  it's for posterity's sake, not vanity, right?

Georgie Porgie

(who mostly makes the boys cry for entirely different reasons then kissing)

Scarlett and Uncle Mack (isn't he a cutie?!)

...and these I just straight-up stole off of Stephanie's blog.  I'm ruthless like that.

Stephanie and her devoted follower, Georgia.

Steph was, hands down, Gee's first love.  When I meet her future husband, I have to ask him, "yes, I know you love my daughter...but can you beat out Auntie Steph?"

 

The inseparable Misses Ella, Scarlett, and Georgia

Steph, Mack, and me

(promise I'm not naturally so squinty and neanderthal-like. the sun was in my eyes.)

I'm off to go get ready for the Kansas City Temple Dedication.  I'm so so so excited to see this temple dedicated.  I'm excited for my children to have a temple of their very own to love and aspire to.  I'm excited to be able to find sanctuary a mere 40 minutes away.

Today, I shout Hosannas with my entire soul.

I love to see the temple.
I’m going there someday
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
A place of love and beauty.
I’ll prepare myself while I am young;
This is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple.
I’ll go inside someday.
I’ll covenant with my Father;
I’ll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I’ve learned this truth:
A family is forever.

I Love To See The Temple

lyrics and music by Janice Kapp Perry