Sometimes...

Sometimes I feel this way about my life.

I can't go back,

And I really wouldn't want to anyway.

I can't go forward,

That requires more effort than I am able to give right now.

Turning to the right or left

Means leaving my current (dis)comfort zone.

And sometimes I'd like to stop...

But have you ever told a two year-old and a six month-old that

"Mommy needs a break"

And had it make the slightest difference?

I love the saying

"Wherever you are, be there."

So I think I'll just be right here where I am-

And I'll love it!

Not long before he passed away, Elder Joseph B Wirthlin gave a beautiful talk at General Conference, and he shared some advice his mother gave him as a youth: "Come what may, and love it." I have often had that in my little mind lately, as I've been trying to manage some of the 'what may' that came to my life. Sometimes it's hard to love!

Before I start to sound ungrateful, please understand that there are myriad 'what mays' that came to me that I love with all my heart. I can feel myself dimly groping toward a concept that I imagine many of you already have nailed down: I don't have a great deal of control over what comes, but I have a LOT of control over how I handle it.

So, to my each of my dear friends and family- thank you for helping me to hang on! To Wyatt and Jana (and Skeeter)- hang on and be patient, Mommy is a work in progress but oh, how I love you! And to my sweetheart Lee: thanks for hanging on to me when it would have been easier to run away screaming!

Come what may [buy donuts as needed] and LOVE IT!

YAY SPRING!

So today is March 20th, otherwise known as Spring First. You may recall about 6 months ago my bitter complaining that the temperatures dropped below freezing on the first day of fall- which is not at all uncommon. What IS uncommon is that on the first day of spring, the weather is divine! It is uncharacteristically warm for March around here (fifty-two degrees with no clouds and a gentle breeze), so we took advantage of it today and had a picnic! The yard still has snow in the corners and the grass is still winter-browned, but we all had a great time!



Jana can support herself well enough to play in the leapfrog activity chair! Wyatt loved it at her age, and it appears she will too!



Mommy and Wyatt self-portrait



They were so patient with me today- I couldn't haul myself out of bed until noon (rough night at work). When I saw the sun shining and no wind, I had to take advantage of it. I made Jana a bottle and Wyatt a plate of hot dogs, pretzels, granola bar, string cheese, a peanut butter sandwich and some yogurt and we pulled out the picnic blanket to sit outside and eat.



Skeeter left his treat inside (I did give him one), so he just waited for Wyatt to share his food!



Little picnic baby



This is the ultimate definition of the phrase" laying in wait."



Skeeter and Wyatt had a rip-roarin' ball game after lunch.



Oops!

Jana got so distracted by Wyatt and Skeeter and airplanes overhead and cars on the highway, she couldn't concentrate on eating!

Wyatt still likes to tromp on the few little snow patches we have left, and Skeeter likes to eat them- they're all slushy now so it's like a doggie snow cone.

Mommy and Jana self-portrait. I know I look like junk, but I worked the last 2 nights and haven't fully come back to humanity yet. I see a nap in my near future!

He looks so noble when he sniffs the passing breezes.

Nice hat, Wyatt!

She has found her feet- I love when they find their feet!

He had a sucker for dessert. He will do just about anything for a sucker- is that where the term "sucker" originated from? ;)

I found out I have some pretty resilient 'shrooms. They survived the winter. How gross.

Peek-a-boo!

Skeeter's favorite part of spring is discovering all the toys and treats that got left outside and then buried under the snow. Seriously, his toy and chew-treat supply has doubled in the last few days.

Wyatt found some rocks that got into the grass over the winter. He sang the clean-up song as he threw them back in. What a sweetheart.

You would have laughed to hear the noise I made to get them all to look at me at the same time- it sounded like a moose call. Everyone came back in, got washed up and settled down to watch Handy Manny while mommy went to blog. And now I will nap!

We hope you are all well and happy. We are looking forward to several friends having cute new additions to their families soon, and we are thinking about and hoping the best for all of them! So each of you get out and get some fresh air, soak up some sunshine, make sure you drink lots of water, and be excellent to each other!

Love and yummy green-frosted St. Patty's day cookies,

M, L, W, J and S

P.S.

There is one tiny thing I don't love about spring. *sigh* Thank heaven for the Clorox Ready Mop!

For the First Time!

I always laugh at that line from Spaceballs: "At last we meet for the first time for the last time!" We've been enjoying some fun firsts around here lately, and since it's (big surprise) accompanied by a kajillion pictures, I'll just dive right in!



Jana's first vegetables. She's not a fan of peas, clearly! Too bad she takes after her mom there.





I was feeding Jana and Wyatt ran in, saw what I was doing, dashed to the kitchen, and came tearing back with a spoon in hand. He scooped up a huge spoonful of peas. Making it:

The first time Wyatt tried to help feed Jana (certainly not the last).

...Or so I thought. You know what he did with that big bite of peas after Daddy clicked the picture?
HE ATE IT HIMSELF! And then said "Yum!"
I was baffled. Jana ate her fill, Wyatt had a few more bites, and when they were done Skeeter ate the rest of the peas. It was like the Twilight Zone.




Another first and definitely not last- the first time one of my children completely emptied my purse seeking a treat. Is that a treat Wyatt's licking? Nope, it's eye drops!


Jana's first twinset: cute shirt and matching cardigan. Little fashionista. Thanks for the cute outfit, Grammy!



A picture of Skeeter. You know by now I can't make a blog post without a few random dog pictures. When I was a kid I thought it was hilarious to make sure every SINGLE roll of film my mom developed had a picture of our dog. So every week or so I'd grab her camera, snap a picture of whatever the dog was doing, and sneak the camera back where it belonged. This is a deeply ingrained habit, and will likely last my whole life. I still think it's kind of funny.




The first time(s) I got around to snapping some pictures of one of Jana's funny habits. She always wants to see what everyone else is doing, so she's constantly craning her neck and twisting around so she can get a better view.

First photo shoot as a big five month-old!

It never ceases to amaze me how such little babies can so completely hold my heart.

Her fine motor (read: grabbing) skills developed earlier than Wyatt's. This girl has an iron grip!

Her current popular nicknames are Sis, JanaBean, and JanaCake.

An impromptu first- she rolled from back to tummy for the first time while I had a camera in my hands. How convenient!

The first time he fit into the Elmo overalls he got for Christmas. He went around all day saying "Elmo pants! Elmo pants!"

How embarrassing. The first time I turned on the TV just so he could watch it and I could take pictures of him!

I love to kiss his little face, he has the softest little squishy-kissy-cheeks!

It was the first time I had trouble getting him to cheese it up when it was just the two of us. Go figure.

This isn't a first. It's not even a millionth. It's just Mommy and Wyatt being silly together. I hope we have little silly moments together for the rest of our lives!

It really was the first time I deliberately used a treat to get him to pose for a picture.

Victory! Good boy, Skeeter.

Here Skeeter, you missed a crumb.

The first time Duchess (another dog-cousin) got in on Wyatt's I'm-done-eating-so-the-rest-goes-to-the-dogs routine! He was laughing so hard watching these two scramble for the pieces of egg.

The first time I took a picture just to show off Skeeter's pearly whites. He went to the vet, underwent general anesthesia (complete with IV and foley catheter!) and had his teeth scaled and polished.

Jana Upside-Down Cake

I'm going to say it's the first time Wyatt has put one of Skeeter's toys in his mouth. But that's a lie. They sure love to play together, though. And that's the truth.

I often find Wyatt playing with and pretending to read out of books. It was surely the first time I found him reading out of these ones. If I succeed as a mother, he'll read them on his own one day.

The first time I took a picture of Wyatt's microwave antics. He loves to open the door...

...slam it hard and yell, "DING!"

This was a true first- he took the money OUT of the piggy bank, put it IN the microwave...

...then carefully put each one BACK in the pig. I took the picture and then gave him a stern "NO NO NO" lecture about putting money in the microwave. Oddly enough, earlier this week he dropped a handful of coins into the fireplace, too. Does he think we have cash to burn?

The first time Wyatt got to work on paying the bills. What a great helper!

We hope you are all getting as excited for spring as we are! Lee is taking his dirt bike out for the first time this spring on Saturday, and I am going on a road trip to Provo for the first time with only myself and two little munchkins!

Wishing you love, chips, salsa and that your lives continue to have enough firsts to keep it fun and exciting- with a little comfortable routine in between,

L,M,W,J & S