and everything else that comes with it...

along with a few pitfalls:

while swimming we were attacked by bees - well i guess that we were the ones who actually were invading their territory. maemae kept telling me that she had an owie and would point to under her armpit. about 30 minutes later my brother asked what happened to her back. i looked and there was a huge splotch of red, inflamed skin across it and a little stinger placed every so neatly in the middle. i guess it was just dangling there for a half hour. poor baby didn't even shed a tear. a few minutes later my nephew stepped on a bee and was stung - this is when the swimming ended.

little children and vintage wagons don't mix well even though i'm sure in the 80's they were intended to. the wagon had to be confiscated when child after child came in crying with bloody limbs.

waiting 45 minutes for the best pan pizza in town is a bad idea with six tired active kids.

and we discovered that the van has an oil leak. ugh.

more to come...including:
my first black friday and saving a kids life at the temple lights.

gratitude on a tuesday

i'm so grateful for this girl. she brightens every second of my day. she is smiling, coo-ing, and working to steady her bobbly head. She is already 10 1/2 lbs - music to a nursing momma's ears.

i'm grateful for a good man who treats me entirely too well. he is my perfect teammate and i love everyday i have to share with him.

and

i'm grateful for good food which we will be enjoying a lot of this week, with these people:

my brother and his family (whom i'm also very grateful for)

Big

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!
She had a fantastic little party with a fantastic little cake,

and the most fantastic little friends (whom apparently my girls like to grope).

Four is big.

Like really big.

I can see the teenager in her. Can you? It's scary.

Four is so big that when you go to the doctor for your four year visit they give you four shots. You think you are just going to get one - but NO-NO-NO. They give you one for each year! Two for each arm! Not only that, but it is totally normal for those shots to burn, have a local rash, and even cause you to have a little fever.

So yeah-

Happy Birthday!

Look Who

all honesty

let's face it. everything always seems so perfect in blogland. too perfect.

we make it perfect. we only let people see what we want them to see.

and this is why i love 'keeping it real' posts.

so here is

The Dirt Uncensored.

for your own nitty-gritty pleasure.

11-19-09
14:30



.toy corner.
where is the carpet?

.beds.

rarely made



.children.
looking homely

desk.

cluttered




.dishes.
still there
notice how i didn't include the kitchen sink? you can guess why.

.me.
showered. whew.

we r out

so if i don't answer your calls, or respond to your email, comment on your blog, or "like" your status update...

you know why.

this weather is irresistible.

let freedom ring!

i can't wait for tomorrow.

i will not set my alarm and it will not ring at 5am.
i will not meet for pre-conference at 6:30am.

i will not spend my day sucking up to cranky nurses and searching for a victim to start an IV on.
i will not change any dressings, pass out any pills, give any injections, or ask anyone about their bowels.

i take that back - i'll still be inquiring about bowels.

i will not eat funky cafeteria food.
i will not awkwardly sit in an office to pump my breastmilk and long for my baby.

instead

i will take a minute to snuggle with Easy in the morning.
i will make breakfast - pumpkin pancakes?
we will go see the temple, have a picnic, and cruise Ikea.
we will play.
we will enjoy.

we will be all together.
all day long.
for the first time in months.

baby hungry?

i am.



i could just eat her.



and i imagine she would taste just like fresh gingerbread.

No-Poo Update

I went two months without shampooing my hair. Every other day I'd rinse and condition. Weekly I'd use baking soda and vinegar to reset it.

Here is the deal:

I loved how it looked and it wasn't stinky.
I just didn't really like how my scalp felt. By the end of the week I was dying to get the baking soda/vinegar on it - which felt awesome and made it look awesome.

I had Gigi and that is when I shampooed for the first time.

Then came the must-have postpartum cut/color where I discovered Purology products. Sulfate free. Cone-free. Love it.

Also speaking of poo. Mae is totally potty trained!!! It was a long process with a very distracted mommy, but I'm so proud of my little-big girl!

candid-a

we have thrush.

i swear it's the most awful thing.


kinda gross.
totally painful.


like i want to rip-out-my-hair-and-scream-all-sorts-of-foul-words whenever i nurse kind of painful.

yep.






warm wishes are welcome.

enjoying

i did well. passed my test on wednesday with flying colors. it feels great.

it means that i don't have to stress. it means that i can do this. it means that my house will be clean.

it means that i get to enjoy all my favorite things,


my three girls.
easy.
fall in arizona.
time with friends.


...until my final hits in december.

focus

that is what this little birdie and i are doing today. it's just us here in my quiet and very messy house.

my most thoughtful, loving, and supportive husband has taken off with the wild ones.

and well, gigi and i have had our time off - our time to bond and rest.

but now i have to get cracking and fill my brain with all sorts of useful information for this week's big exam so i can pass block 2, or the nursing block from hell, as i affectionately call it.

no projects, no cleaning, no laundry, no fancy meals...just books, power point presentations,

and of course, my gingersnap.

p.s. don't you just love that receding hairline?

thoughts

i can't believe we are cleaning up halloween already. it kinda makes me sad. i love halloween, but unfortunately we were a little too busy this year to entirely take it in.

and i can't believe that both my mom and Easy's parents have come and gone. it makes me feel like thanksgiving is tomorrow and christmas is next week. it basically is, right?

anyway. we can't stop it.

on completely different notes:

• today at target a random girl came up to me and said how i could not have just had "that baby" in my sling and fit into "those jeans" that i was wearing. it made me feel good even though "those jeans" were cutting into my love handles like a mother and i had to take them off as soon as i got home.

• i have a huge test this week in class but have totally been struggling to keep motivated and have my heart in school. i just had a baby for crying out loud! all i really want to do is just kiss and snuggle her all day. it would be a lot easier if she didn't smell so wonderful.

• this saturday is my last clinical until next block. hallelujah! it makes me want to split town in a bad way.
  

• i think i might want to get rid of the chickens. they poop too much.
  

• Easy wants a pop-up camper and i'm not totally convinced. any thoughts?
  

• i have decided that pumping is not entirely like "eating dirt" with an electric pump, but i still feel quite cow-like.
  

• we got a new washing machine this weekend on craigslist for $65. i'm enjoying doing laundry without feeling like the house is going to come down on top of us. wait. what? did i say enjoying? that is so not what i meant....