I'm a Mom

Do you ever catch a glimpse of your life and wonder how you got there? Sometimes, time stands still for me and I marvel at the snapshot standing before me. Today, I captured one of those moments on camera. There I stood, with four kids covered in chocolate frosting and thought, "These are mine! I'm a mom!"

I know, I know I'm crazy. But I tell you, sometimes it catches me off guard. Sometimes I still feel like a twelve year old and I wonder how I got here. I was never one of those girls who loved baby dolls and babysitting and told people that I wanted to be a mom when I grew up. I'll be the first to admit that I was nervous when I found out I was pregnant. Though my friends always pegged me as the nurturing mother type, I doubted myself. But, as luck would have it, here I am four kids later, totally in love with them! My parenting isn't as deliberate and thought-out as it should be (let's face it, I fly by the seat of my pants!) It's not easy, it's not glamorous, it's not often validated or applauded, but I'll be honest, there's nothing I'd rather be doing.

15 Months

Quincy turned 15 months today. And finally, for the first time, she is walking more than crawling. She also has been healthy for the longest stretch of time in months. Her personality has really come alive, and we're having so much fun with her. It turns out she's pretty playful and feisty. She loves playing with her siblings and isn't afraid to keep them in line by hitting them and screeching at them at the top of her lungs. She and Fisher engaged in a long screaming match yesterday, just for the fun of it. And she loves dogs (in a family that hates them!). Two sets of her cousins have dogs and she follows them around like a puppy herself. We have a few dogs at home and she drags them around, barking at them.

She continues to be a star and we love our little CiCi, as she is known around our house.

Cousins

How lucky am I to have grown up with so many girl cousins my age? We haven't been all together at the same time for a long time. But it was a great opportunity to hang out this past week.

I guess cousins really are a treasure I've always taken for granted, both for myself and my kids. My cousin, Jenny, told me that her sons rarely see their cousins and haven't met some at all. As they were leaving our house one night, her son, exclaimed, "We have cousins!" My children have a whole gaggle of cousins within minutes, always ready and waiting to have fun. What a blessing. It also made me appreciate the efforts of my grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles to keep their kids close. The lovely ladies pictured above grew up in three different states, but we have shared so many amazing memories.

Lorynisms

"Mom, you should call this number so you can get a better life and be a better mom." -A commercial for a local trade college had just aired and apparently a compelling testimonial prompted Loryn to give me this little bit of life coaching. One thing is for sure, you have to have a healthy self-esteem if you spend much time with Loryn.

"Dad, I can't go to work for you. I don't know how to make the money. How do you make the money anyway?" Dan had asked Loryn to go to work for him and he would go to kindergarten for her. What ensued left us in stitches. Apparently we've been a little vague about what Dan actually does for work. Until now, a simple explanation that Dan makes money has sufficed. However, it appears she thinks Dan works for the treasury or the U.S. mint, and actually makes money at work.

I could go on for miles about the crazy things she says, but I realize that parents are usually the only ones who actually think what their kids say is funny. Sort of the same way that parents are usually the only ones think that their kids are cute. I get it, but I still think mine are cute and funny and that others aren't so much!

Case in Point

I've often said that I "married up," meaning that I married someone far greater than my on merits warranted. And it's true. The above picture illustrates just one of the many reasons why. Our daughter got a little kids' sewing machine for Christmas that is a bit puzzling to operate. I have never been able to use a sewing machine, and the whole idea of them gives me anxiety. So my sweet husband sat down to show her how to sew.

Just a few days later, Loryn came home with tickets to the Utah Flash for that night. It's the local minor league basketball team and she thought she had done an absolutely wonderful thing in securing the free tickets for her family. Most parents would have found an excuse not to go, especially on such short notice. But Dan took the girls and made a night of it.

And he does laundry, dishes, all the finances, and changes diapers. He's amazing and I'm quite convinced I married the perfect man. OK, so he might not be perfect, but he's definitely perfect for me.

31

So, I'm 31 now. (And I definitely look it in the is picture). I guess I have been for a couple weeks. Either way, there is nothing like the serendipitous marriage of a new calendar year and a new age to get you going . . . or not. Even though my motivation is a little lackluster, it will definitely be interesting to see what the next year holds in store. If there is anything I learned from Year 30 and 2009-- just about anything is possible.

My birthday fell on a Sunday, which only meant I got to spread out the celebration over two days. On Saturday, I caught dinner and a movie with the love of my life. On Sunday, he and the kids brought me breakfast in bed! Orange rolls from the Provo Bakery (my absolute fave!) Then my mom was kind enough to fix dinner for all of us, so I didn't have to. Yeah! All in all, a wonderful birthday. May the future be merry and bright!