lunch time

what?

you guys don't eat lunch on the kitchen floor while playing candyland?

you're seriously missing out. 

this is what waking up from a 3 hour nap looks like

well,
doesn't she look so very sad?

not to worry- 2 seconds later she was up and dancing around like the crazy kidlet that she is.
ahhh, preschoolers.
temperamental but oh so much fun.


kate,
your favorite thing to do right now is to tell us 'secrets'.
you twist our heads, lean in really close and loudly whisper whatever silliness you can think of, usually something like:
'ummmm..... evie is right over there.'
and then you giggle like you're the funniest person in the world.

it's rad.

easily amused

evie rue:

the other day i didn't budget my time very well.

[well, duh. i never budget my time well]

i was attempting to get ready for work at the same time that you girls was begging to be fed. 

[jank typically gets home about 10 minutes before i have to leave so he wasn't there to help]

let me tell you what i am not good at;

being patient with a whiny 3 year old and fussy baby.

nothing makes my blood pressure rise faster than a crying baby.

thankfully you don't cry often and on those occasions that you do,

you're easily distracted as long as i have a new item for you to discover.

the other day it was my camera lens cap.

bada bing.

occupied for a good 15 minutes.

which allowed me to get some makeup on, get dressed and i still had a spare moment to snap these pics.

goodness you're cute.

ps. ignore the weird picture in the background. i bought that gigantic frame at a garage sale for $7 [!!!] i am currently waiting for a new mat and art to be completed. unless i decide to keep the victorian little girl and the pink fabric mat..... sooooo tempting. decisions, decisions.

one of the final swims, october 8th.

to our little watering hole-

you served us well these past 6 months.
you might be small,
but ye are mighty.

see you in april.
[maybe march if we're crazy]

when we first heard about the job opportunity in yuma,
my one absolute request was a private pool.
i knew we wouldn't always live somewhere quite so warm,
so we decided to live it up while we're here.
pool care comes included in our rental price,
which makes having our own pool all the sweeter.

this summer kate learned to swim without floaties and dive like a kitty cat.
[just go with it, she has some odd names for things]
evidence of my kid's awesomeness below:

thanks for indulging me.

october for the win

 

dearest october,

you're making me like yuma again.

after months of hibernation,

we are able to exit our air-conditioned home and venture into the fresh air.

it feels so good to drive with the windows down again!

this week i've been running [ahem, stumbling while attempting to not die] in the morning and it is glorious.

i return home and throw open all the windows and let the breeze blow through the house. 

the air is fresh and the desert flowers are blooming.

it's so strange because my brain knows it's autumn but my body says it's spring.

whatever the season, i like it.

now, who's coming to visit us?

the pool is still open....

 

[this week i've lived in my apron. i've been cooking and cleaning  and organizing. turns out anti-depressants make me quite productive. double high five to my meds!]

our morning routine

 

girlies:

someday you'll ask me,

'what was life like when we were younger?'

and i'll respond,

'i don't remember. i had alzheimers when i was 27. who are you people? and why are you calling me mom??'  

so in answer to your future question, this is what the first 2 hours of our day looks like.

october 2012

sometime between 0600 and 0630:

kate, you wake up and come walking into our bedroom [with all three blankies in tow] and promptly state,

'i want to watch doctor'.

well, good morning sweetie. nice to see you too.

and since your dad is at the gym getting all lean and sexy for me;

i roll out of bed, stumble to the fridge and retrieve a sippy cup of whole milk for you.

meanwhile, you're on the couch fluffing pillows and blankies and making everything just so.

you thank me for the milk and ask for your favorite doc mcstuffins episode [which changes daily].

then i kiss your head and stumble back to bed [because this mama is far from a morning person].

i try to go back to sleep but it's usually not possible so i spend the next 20-30 minutes instagramming [so addicted it's not funny] and pinteresting [again, addicted. it's becoming a problem].

lately i've been reading the ensign or the scriptures on my phone which really helps set a calm tone for the day.

i love being inspired to be a better person.

evelyn, at some point you wake up and kick, coo and babble for awhile.

i lay in my bed, all snuggled in, listening to your baby noises and think,

'that kid is rad'

you eventually start to fuss and i go get you, change your bum, tickle you until you giggle and then make you a bottle which you won't drink [your anti-bottle right now. you're only interested in solid food]

next comes breakfast for all.

typically cold cereal or eggos [because i believe in only all natural, organic, healthy food]

evelyn you get oatmeal with some prune juice mixed in [see? it's always about the poops around here]

and then dad comes home for the gym and kate says,

'ewwww, you're all sweaty. gross. go shower.'

dad showers and we keep playing.

if it's a school day we get ready for school.

sometimes we make the beds, sometimes we don't.

kate, you almost always let me dress you. 

you haven't developed a desire to be picky about your clothes yet.

as long as it's a dress or a skirt, you're happy.

then there's your hair to be wrangled into some sort of crazy ponytail,

teeth to be brushed and shoes to be put on.

next thing i know, i'm kissing you goodbye and telling you to listen to your teachers.

out the door you go in a whirlwind [because dad takes you to school before work and he's always late]

evie, at that point you and i look at each other and think 'what now? it's soooo quiet!'

and then we play, clean, read and generally lounge about for an hour before it's nap time for you.

and that's what we do almost every day.

unless it's monday or thursday [our non-school days]

those days we stay in our jammies for a ridiculous amount of time or spend the morning running errands about town before it reaches 105 degrees [no joke. october 3rd, one hundred and five degrees. no thanks]

it's a simple life right now.

it's a good life right now.

you girlies are gems.

[of course this routine goes out the window when i've worked a night shift. at that point i walk around like a zombie while brandon is super dad. and then my blessed friend shows up to pick up evie and i get to sleep.

 ah, night shift. how i love and loathe thee.]