week of updates: Jonathan & Lindsey

I meant to get this up last week but alas, time slipped away from me :)

Since I updated about the two kiddos, here's a brief summary of what's what with Jonathan and I these days. I'll just tell you right now- it's not that exciting. I do love my life but I understand that the things that interest me are not so interesting to everyone else. If you want to know anyway, read on! ;)

Jonathan still loves his job. His groups changed for the quarter so now he's doing fitness, dog shelter, pottery, pain management, team-building, volleyball, leisure transition, circuit training, leisure education, and billiards. He seriously has so much fun doing what he does. Last Friday he had another ATRA Conference (Pacific Northwest American Therapeutic Recreation Association). He got to hang out with his co-workers and go to various workshops. Besides work, he's brewing up some other projects to work on. Now that we have a garage he finally has a space for his tools and building materials and he is itching to get stuff done. Let me also note that the garage is quite handy. It hides things- aka, keeps them away from the kids. We have all our camping gear, holiday decorations, extra freezer, craft supplies, laundry machines, and extra storage crammed in there. Charlotte's big birthday surprise is also hiding in the cement abyss, covered up. I feel so secretive :)

Back to Jonathan. He's great :) That man puts up with a lot from the kids and I, and he works so hard to keep us happy and secure. He goes along with my ideas even if they're dumb. He sets an example of righteous living, too, which I appreciate. Sometimes I wanna give in a little, and he gently nudges me back in place. He is a stand out guy! And I love that he is mine :)

Not much is new with me. Probably the biggest thing is that I recently switched our whole family over to almond milk- no more cow's milk for us! Of course, we still eat cheese and ice-cream and other dairy things...but no more drinking it straight and using it for cooking. This all started a few months ago when a friend posted a link about the harmful effects of cow milk. After reading it I was shocked but couldn't imagine swearing it off forever. And then for last few weeks, it kept nudging me again and again. I googled "why dairy milk is bad for you" and a million articles came up. Then I looked it up in three of my health books on my bookshelf (I should probably read those sometime...) and yep, sure enough- dairy is basically the devil (pardon my bluntness). As I found more research, I was appalled that I had been drinking it my whole life. I NEVER thought I would give it up, but now I don't see how I couldn't!

The transition from cow's milk to almond milk has been the easiest major health change in my life.  We get the unsweetened, organic kind. I prefer the vanilla. Not only does it taste way better but I use it for everything that I'd use dairy milk in (same measurements, too) and so far cannot tell a difference. It is about twice as expensive, but the health benefits far outweigh the few extra bucks each month. I really love soymilk, too, but it's more of a treat for me since I like to get the sweetened chocolate and vanilla kinds. It's also a bit heavier and more bitter tasting unsweetened, so we get the almond for everyday drinking. However, when I'm on period, you can bet I'll have chocolate soy milk in the fridge. What would I do without that heavenly, hormone-calming goodness? It actually eases cramps and mood swings, and gives me my chocolate fix. And when its ice cold- YUM. Sometimes I drink it in a wine glass when I'm in the tub and feel super fancy...

ANY-way....

There's a few sewing projects coming up that I'm excited for. It's been forever since I got to craft and sew (except for some curtains a few weeks ago that I already had supplies for). I think I'm still recovering from moving..it's a huge change and I never handle change well. Though I love our house, I've not had much desire to do anything but arrange furniture and clean, clean, clean. I don't know why, but this house never seems clean enough. Perhaps its the hardwood floors.

To be honest, it's been a little lonely. We hardly know anyone in our new ward except a few people...we gave talks two Sundays ago. I wasn't at all nervous, which I later realized was because I didn't care to impress anyone. I was just beyond caring about making a good impression to anyone since it seems like we never get to settle down. Ironically, this time we really are settling down. At least for 4-5 years (which is a long time compared to everywhere else we've lived). I know we will adjust eventually, it's just hard- especially seeing everyone in our old ward in the hallways still (they meet an hour after we do).

Weirdly enough, I am thankful for The Bachelor. Every Monday night, my friends from the old ward meet up and watch it. They've invited me the last few times but I haven't been able to make it. Tonight I will be going, and hopefully won't feel so lonely anymore. I want to stay connected to them, just like I've stayed connected to our friends we made in Rexburg.

Well, I've blabbed enough...good night, all!

week of updates: Talmage

Talmage is now binky-free, as you already know from last week's posts. His vocabulary surprises me...he is very articulate with his words and gets things across in a really funny manner sometimes. He's loving Primary- especially his new little friend Connor. Those two should not be allowed to sit next to one another (in Sacrament OR Primary) because they talk and squeal and touch tongues (no lie) and pick each other's noses and laugh hysterically together... Connor is the real wild card and Talmage just does whatever he does. But oh my gosh. Connor is a riot. I don't know how his mom doesn't pass out from laughing every day. Talmage (like most Sunbeams) has a hard time staying still during Sharing Time and listening to his teachers. Since I sit behind his class just a few rows, he's constantly coming to me and wanting to sit in my lap. But he's learning, I think. He has two amazing teachers- one older lady who is soooo patient, and the other is younger and super fun. She probably laughs at everything that he & Connor say.

*a note on Primary: Every month in Primary the kids are asked to learn a Primary song. The songs are all on their own special cd that they take home and listen to. I've been having him listen to the song, and he seemed to know a few lines. Well last Sunday the leaders asked the kids who knew it to give their "Primary Idol performance" and he marched straight up there. I was like, "Um..he is not going to remember the song" and Jonathan and I tried to contain our chuckles. Well, the song starts and he goes into complete freeze mode: mouth open, eyes wide. He forgot all the words. We start motioning for him to go sit back down with his class (who were ALL sitting down...the only "performers" were older kids) SO what does he do? Starts yelling out gobble-dy gook nonsense over the kids who are singing. So, yep, he gave a performance alright...one that made the leaders have red faces and looks of shock/disbelief. So embarrassing...(and to top it off, when we picked up Charlotte from nursery later that day on of her leaders said she was a wild one. I was thinking; 'If only you knew where she gets it from.' HA.)

His favorite things these days: play with his Jake Pirate ship, draw/paint, BATMAN, climb and jump off of everything pretending he is Batman, legos (like all the time, every day), cars & trucks, and watching morning cartoons. 

 Man, those legos...lemme tell ya. Best invention ever. He LOVES playing with "way-go's" as he sometimes calls them...he and daddy have special lego time together and shut themselves in his room for hours. :) I quite like it, because it means that Charlotte and I get to have girly time.

He also loves these fun little toys called Imaginext. I had never heard of them until he got a few for Christmas- and those things are awesome! Well-built toys and great for imaginative play. Sometimes he gets overwhelmed with his legos so the imaginext toys are perfect for his level. Plus- they roll, they shoot stuff, they come in all sorts of boyish themes, and they're cheaper than legos.

Of course, he's got a Batman one. He insisted I take a picture of it, and then of Batman's spaceship. What a goof :)

Thank heavens he takes naps again. For the first week he was binky-less, he couldn't calm himself down for nap. But now he is back to it, and I am SO grateful.

He loves it when I make "smoo-dees"of any kind. He even likes green smoothies and I'm soon going to try them with kale. Since he only eats a few select veggies, this method is a huge help. When he's not scarfing down a "smoo-dee", he is always eating something or another. The kid is a bottomless pit. I don't know he eats so much and still has a tiny, narrow waist. Oh to be a toddler...

Talmage also now sleeps in a big boy bed. Sometimes I wish it was my bed because it's so fun :) It's like a bunk bed with a play area underneath instead of a bottom mattress. The top has a canopy tent over it so you can't tell when his bed isn't made (big bonus!). He has lots of fun on it, so I'm glad we finally made the change :)

All of his favorite animals: Doggy, Binky Panda, Spot. Grizzly, and Oo-oo!

Watching the school bus out his window. A favorite past-time. 

It's been a long time since I took him to the doctor, so I don't know where he is for height and weight, but like I said he has a very narrow waist. Size 4t fits lengthwise but feels a bit wide. He's just skinny :) Oh well.

A few other things. Besides being obsessed with Batman, he also loves Spiderman, Ninjago, and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. He still loves to snuggle. And since Saturday, he hasn't asked for a binky ONCE :) He's super sweet and fun, but I'm not gonna lie...boy drives me absolutely bonkers most some days. We've started to potty train him through the night. So far so good. I think he's ready this time. No more diapers for this boy! (fingers crossed)

I'm still figuring out ways to diffuse his energy...or rather, project it onto something good to avoid a result of destruction or bad behavior. He really does have good intentions, but he gets a little too wound up sometimes (like all toddlers). One of these things is asking him to read to Charlotte or teach her how to do something. He gets very excited to be the big brother and feel in charge.

We love our little Talmage! He cannot wait to turn 4 soon (or as he puts it, "to be four again." Did he have another life that I'm not aware of?). My days are never dull with this kid, and he makes me laugh every day- repeatedly. :)

week of updates: Charlotte

Umm so it's been a long time since I gave an update on the kids. I better not wait to do it because next week they'll probably be teenagers (not really but every mom knows what I mean..) ;)

Because I like to break things up, I'll post about each member of our family some day this week- starting with our littlest chicken!

Charlotte is so much fun! She loves plopping herself in my lap so I can do "pretty hair." She loves playing with her tea set and dishes. She ALWAYS has a baby doll (or two or three) in her arms along with a bottle to feed them. She is totally girly and I love love love it.

She still loves books and could flip through them all day. For this reason I've had to put all the books in T's room and she only has a few in her room that up high and out of reach, because she also rips the pages still.  Her favorite books are ones with her pictures in them like her baby book. She loves to watch "Signing Time" on Netflix and anything with Elmo. She begs me to sing to her every time I lay her down for sleep- her favorites being "Itsy-Bitsy Spider", "Twinkle, Twinkle", and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam." Sometimes I put my ear to her door and hear her singing various songs- the cutest by far being "Wet it GOOO...wet it GOOO!" She is the cutest ever, ever, ever.

Her favorite things to do: play with duplos, play with her little people princess castle & dollhouse, dress up with beads, and rock out to All-American Rejects or Taylor Swift :) 

She talks a ton now. My favorite phrases are "I habit?" (I have it?) and "some! some!" (give me some) and "where is daw-wee?" (where's my dolly?) I just love her. Every lego person is a "bag-guy" (bad guy). She also says "OH tanku" every single time I give her something. And whenever I say thank you, she really quietly replies with "elcome". When she wants to be picked up she'll say "knee hug!" (need hug). Every time there's a knocking sound, she yells "I COMING!" Oh, and this one is kinda bad but if I'm talking to Jonathan for a while, she tells me to BE QUIET very loudly. It's so rude but so funny. Haha.

The last time I took her to the dr. she was in the 5th percentile for her height, but 85th for weight. So apparently she is petite and chubby. But I never listen to the percentiles anyways. To me she is perfect! 

I can NOT wait for her birthday next month! I can't believe she'll be turning two whole years old...every time I hear "Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift I completely lose it. Time goes by way too fast when you're a mother.