Bathing Beauties

Last Saturday night Russell and Ty went to the Monster Truck World Finals held here in Las Vegas every year.  They had a blast and will probably make it a tradition.  This means that Lila, Avery, and I will have to keep our Girls' Night tradition, too!  They're not exactly the best at partying hearty--our night started with poopy diapers and ended with baths.  In the middle I ate cheesecake and a microwave meal and they ate some baby mush and "we" watched a chick flick.  Anyway, they were being SO cute during bath time and I didn't have to worry about getting Ty in the bath tub, too so I took a few pictures with my phone.
(WARNING: baby booties ahead.)

Before getting into the bath, the girlies were wrastlin' on the floor.  They both were having fun getting each other.  I should have kept score...

 I love how Avery is totally fish-hooking Lila...

 ...But Lila is totally grabbing Avery's ear and head. (You gotta watch out for your hair and ears around that one--she'll pull 'em!)

 Nakey Avery!

 If this was clearer, I'd add some effects and frame it for the bathroom wall. 

 For some crazy reason, I decided that I wanted to try and put them in the same tub.  I have no idea why I thought they would fit; they hardly fit in there one at a time! 

 Clean enough...

Snapshot: Our Family Today

I don't really know why, but I'm feeling a bit emotional right now.  I guess there's just a lot of...no, I really don't know why.  Whatever.  Okay, now I'm crying--what the heck?!  I sat down to write about what's going on in our fam, ya know, what this blog is supposed to be about, and I guess I'm a bit overcome with what's happened since I really wrote.  Taking a "snapshot" of our little lives makes me happy.  Is everything perfect?  Absolutely no, but I'm happy.  Okay, here's what's up with all of us, Christmas card style:

Russell: doing his last clinical rotation for his DPT degree at UNLV.  In like 75ish days he'll graduate and become an actual physical therapist!  He's for sure counting down and is feeling ready to get this career going.  (I might actually miss a bit of the "school" life...but I'm not the one in school!)  Russell puts in some long days and I appreciate him and his hard work.  I really feel for him right now because there's a lot of big stuff coming up: final paper and presentation on the 3-year research project he's been working on, applying/interviewing for jobs, working full days for free, studying for the national licensing exam on April 30th, and still coming home to a not-always(ever)-clean home and 3 bitty kids who love him and want his attention.  Ty LOVES his daddy, as he should, but he's been extra attached lately.  When Russell does boy scouts stuff sometimes Ty will join him and just hang out.

Carolyn: I'm trying to reach some kind of normalcy and adjust my expectations to an appropriate level considering our circumstances.  It's a work in progress, but I feel much more like myself than I did a few months ago.  (More on that postpartum/recovery another day.)  I need to reel in the buying clothes/accessories for our kids, but sometimes it's so hard to pass up a good deal.  I need more friends who need me to buy stuff for their kids/babies. I'd so be all over that.  No, really though, we do try to get out and sometimes it works.  ;) I can't remember a day when we didn't all get clothes on.  My non-makeup days are becoming more frequent and I cut my hair, which makes it quicker to do/wash.  I fear I'm turning into a MOM, like full-on mom jeans-wearing, no care-for-appearance, every sentence starts with "well, MY kids...," no sense of self interest, mom.  I have a few areas to step it up in, including cleaning and personal enrichment.  I think thus far I have the feeding, dressing, and playing with kids thing under control.  (Speaking of which, we've got a poopy one...pause in the writing action for a stink-change break!  I'm back--false alarm.)  SO, now I'm a substitute teacher in Relief Society and I get to teach this Sunday, which I'm excited about.  the lesson is on becoming perfect a little every day--a very good lesson to familiarize myself with.  I still take a dance class on Monday nights and I still have fun.  I really just love to dance, which is also why we got a Kinect to go with the xbox so that I can have some more physical activity/work out at home that's actually fun to do.  When you come over, we can play together. :)

Ty-Ty:
-2 1/2 now!
-weighs roughly 32 lbs.  He likes to stand on our scale and will tell others to get on it, too.  So inviting.
-still way into numbers, recognizes numbers like 83, 76, and starting to get some hundreds down.  Counts up to 70 last we checked, I think.
-loves letters and spelling now!  he knows the alphabet and sounds that the letters make and tries to find what letter words start with. He's doing that whole, "What does d-f-g-h-h-r-a-i-w-f-e-d spell?"  He sometimes will sound out words; the other day he read the word "gum" by himself.  Smartypants.
-Cars.  For some reason, he doesn't actually request to watch Cars every morning like he used to!  He's still so into his matchbox/hot wheels cars (he has ~40) and pointing out BMWs, Mercedes, Jeeps, and every other kind of car on the road.  This kid could sit by a busy street all day...but we don't let him, because that's not very safe.
-Ty's ears work well.  He swears he knows what kind of car is driving by when he hears an engine roar, "Did you hear that Mustang, Mommy?"  The other night Russell and I were discussing what happenend to all of our phone chargers (I lost them) and Ty, who was trying to sleep yelled from his room, "Stop saying words, guys, okay?!" Funny.
-Lots of funny stuff comes out of his mouth, which I'm trying to keep record of on a word document.  Yesterday he had "Frosted Mini Leaves" for breakfast.  :)  He does speak pretty clearly and well, though.
-Ty boy loves his sisters.  He used to say/scream, "Stop lelling [yelling] it!" when they cried, but now he stays calm and says, "Don't worry, baby girl."  He often tells us that he needs to go see his "Lolla girl" or "Avery L'Wayne" and gives them kisses.  He also likes to wrestle with them and is rougher than I would like, but the girls are usually laughing, so I guess it's okay.  Sometimes they cry, and obviously it's not.  He's never intentionally mean to them, thank goodness.
-He's starting to know when he's funny and hams it up.  We have to work on keeping a straight face when naughty stuff he does is also funny.
-Ty has an alternate personality: Baby Hoey. (Yes, he named himself.)  Baby Hoey likes to sit in the babies' seats and eat little puffs like them and sometimes be carried like a baby and talks in a baby voice.  I can't wait until "Baby Hoey" is potty trained, though...don't hold your breath for anytime soon.
-When Ty gets his teeth brushed, Russell has been saying the names of Seattle Seahawks players (or all of the NFL franchises or the 50 states.)  Now when Ty plays football, he's either "Marshall Lunch" or "Golden Tate" instead of just himself.  Usually Russell will be Russell Wilson, too.
-He just grew taller!  I know this because all of a sudden his 2T pants are all too short.  Good thing it's about shorts season anyway.
-We make deals all of the time ("eat 4 more bites then you can have some more chocolate milk") and sometimes he says stuff like "I get my cars then I can play your phone, okay?  That was my deal."  He catches on pretty quickly, but that's not exactly a "deal..."
-Speaking of which, he's very good at playing with/figuring out our phones and his tablet.  Child of a new generation!
-He answers about every question with "I don't know..." then proceeds to say the actual answer.  It's a funny little tick.

Avery:
As of 6-month check up 3/8/13
 weight: 15 lbs 13 oz, 45%
 height: 26.25", 65%
 head: 17.25" 90%

-Yes, there are differences in the girls' personalities.  FYI.
-Avey Baby is a very social little girl.  She wants to be where the action is and will cry if she's left in a room by herself
-she's a great sleeper and napper.  Hooray!  Seriously, usually all you have to do is lay her down with a binky and she's asleep.  Sometimes I go to get Lila out of her crib because she's crying and Avery is just laying there awake and happy.
-Avery doesn't fuss, she's either happy or sobbing with her gravely, loud, such-a-sad-face cry.
-sometimes she'll get startled by stuff that makes her cry, like sometimes Lila being loud, sometimes someone looking at her, ya know, whatever.
-Usually if she's sad, when I (or someone else) looks at her, she's happy again.  This girl has smiles to share with everyone, a very happy baby.
-Both the girls love spitting/blowing raspberries
-sometimes spits up like a fountain
-rolls front to back and back to front
-smiles with her whole face, including her big blue eyes--love it.
-chews on fingers lots--hers, yours, it doesn't matter
-loves grabbing her bare feet!
-has a fun time in the bath tub kicking!
-is a big fan of eating food.  When I feed the girls I alternate giving bites; a lot of times Avery is waiting with her mouth open.  :)  When we're eating dinner sometimes I'll give her some little cereal puffs, too so she's happy.  She even tries to grab them (turns into her chasing them around the high chair tray) and put them in her mouth.  Avery is yet to be successful on this front, but it's so fun to watch her little mind work. 

Lila:
As of 6-month check up 3/8/13
 weight: 16 lbs., 50%
 height: 25.75", 40%
 head: 17", 80%
-sometimes looks like a little doll--so pretty with light blue eyes, long lashes, and a sweet smile.
-I love her chubby, rosy cheeks when she wakes up!  They're so, so kissable. Plus, she smiles with them and they get even bigger!
-like Avery likes to be looked at/talked to, Lila likes to be held and physically played with
-tries to "talk" to Avery (or nobody) with little shrieks and squeals
-rolls...usually...front to back, but not the other way.
-loves this little hippo toy that wobbles and plays music when you hit it. Sometimes she'll be whining then go straight to a big smile when she sees it--cute.
-not quite as interested in the eating food thing as her sister, but is getting the hang of it
-a very good grabber of hair, shirts, arms, toys, etc.
-laughs and smiles at Ty more than anyone else.  She loves her big brother!
-sometimes gets a little fussy, but has such a cute sad face
-a good night-sleeper and decent napper
-spits up like a flock of birds: little drops all over
-big snuggler/cuddler, little sweetheart
-when she's crying, if you walk outside, she stops.  Works like a charm.  I don't think she's every been outside and cranky, she's a great stroller rider!
-understands how some toys work better than her sister, plays with things instead of just chewing on them
-chunky thighs=loves.
-big fan of the Johnny Jump-Up (bouncey thing hanging in the doorway) and will hang out--literally--for a while and drool and squeal to herself

Phew!  That was long...with many interruptions, trust me.  I'll add pictures soon!

Rough Day, Perfect Ending

What a day.  This is the kind of day I need to record for myself to read 20 years down the road when I miss (maybe I will...) having little kids.  We've caught the flu/cold bug that's been going around.  Actually, I think this may be our 2nd bug in a row because we had a few days of feeling fine, then we all got the sniffles, cough, etc. Because we are a little under the weather, we decided it would be best not to infect everyone and stay home from church today.  Today also happened to be the Seahawks v. Falcons playoff football game that we were home for instead of at church, but that really was coincidental and probably the only thing "good" about being sick right now.  It was a stay-in-comfy-clothes-all-day kind of day. 

Of course, many things still need to be accomplished.  There's a big pile of unfolded laundry on our bed that I put there so I'd have to fold it before going to sleep tonight. Looks like I'll move it out to the couch.  Although the dishwasher ran and was emptied today, there's still a bunch of kitchen and dishes to clean up.  Our floor looks like a tiny-pieces-of-garbage confetti cannon exploded.  I'm halfway done going through the girls' clothes, which means I have piles on the floor in their room. Ya know, the bigger mess before it's all organized.  Dirty bibs and burp rags abound and I'm hoping that every wet spot I come across is water and not snot or spit up.  And so on. 

I feel like the whole day was spent changing diapers, feeding babies, holding fussy babies, blowing my own nose and coughing, trying to catch Ty's nose with a tissue before he wiped it with the back of his hand, and picking stuff up around our messy home that accumulates exponentially when everyone's stuck inside for a while.  Plus, the Seahawks lost.  Since this is not our first day being sick, Ty had a case of cabin fever and was bouncing off the walls when he wasn't crying or falling on his sisters or getting in trouble for swinging them in the Johnny Jump-up wrecking-ball style.  The girls were extra fussy and wanted to be held.  Neither Russell nor myself felt so great either. 

Around 7:45 after our late dinner (our kids usually go to sleep around 9, which hopefully will change to 8ish after we aren't sick now that we're done holiday traveling), I decided we should church things up just a bit.  We said a prayer (we all needed that!) and I had a literally 2-minute little lesson ready for Ty where he got to hold pictures and sing a song he already knows.  2 minutes turned into 15 as he ran around, wouldn't quit being so goofy, and the babies needed some attention and although I probably should have given up, I was stubborn and we were going to get spiritual on Sunday for a minute, dang it!  By the end, Russell was asleep on the couch, the babies were squirmy, and Ty had lost it. 

I'm proud of myself, though, because instead of being frustrated I decided it would probably be a good time to play.  Ty and I played "Up down, touch the ground," he "flew" staying balanced in the air on my feet, and I was a horse that Ty and Lila rode together.  They laughed while we played and my mood totally changed.  Sometimes I need to remember that my role as a mom involves playing with my kids.  They don't want a clean house, they want my time.  They don't need to always be reminded to pick up their toys, they need to be reminded of the cool monster trucks in the hall they should bring out to be played with together.  They don't care if their dinner wasn't fancy, they would rather be tickled.  This is important for Ty, especially since he has been displaced a bit by the babies; his piece of the pie is now smaller.  (And I need to remember that my piece still exists!) 

Anyway, after playing for a little while, I could tell Ty was worn out and with a baby in one arm, we brushed his teeth and said good night to everyone.  (He's always really good about giving everyone a good night kiss.)  As I carried him to bed--this time without a baby--he asked if I could stay and snuggle.  I agreed to sing a song and he asked for "song of a bird:"  

Whenever I hear the song of a bird, or look at the blue, blue sky,
Whenever I feel the rain on my face, or the wind as it rushes by,
Whenever I touch a velvet rose or walk by our lilac tree,
I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world Heavenly Father created for me.

He gave me my eyes that I might see the color of butterfly wings.
He gave me my ears that I might hear the magical sound of things.
He gave me my life, my mind, my heart; I thank him reverently
For all his creations of which I'm a part.  Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me.

Before I started singing, I got a little teary-eyed and overcome with a sense of love for my little boy. (Kinda like I am right now.)  The very last line of the song hit me especially: I am a part of Ty, His creation, and am so fortunate and happy to be so.  As I sat on Ty's bed and tried to get through the song without pausing too much getting all choked up, I know that I was blessed with an extra dose of feeling joy in being a mom when I needed it.

I came out to put Lila and Avery down, too and as I picked up the freshly-swaddled Lila, she stopped sucking on her binki and gave me a huge, face-lighting-up smile.  Avery did the same thing as I gave her a last-chance diaper change then carried her to the crib.  I wish that I could express better how this really felt after a long, not so fun day.  I know that I experienced a tender mercy from the Lord as I put my all 3 of my sweet babies to bed.  It was the calm after the storm, the payoff after the work, the realization of my privilege to be a mother and have joy in my life right now.  I'm not looking forward to Russell starting his 3rd (and last!) clinical rotation and not being home like he has been for the past 3 weeks, but I'm feeling re-energized in my daily mission of tending to the children.  There's absolutely nothing that compares to my role as a parent and I feel humbled and blessed to be a part in the lives of Heavenly Father's children.  I'm lucky to have such a great husband who, although he had never changed a diaper until it belonged to his own son, is a wonderful father and example for our family.  I am so grateful for a reminder of what's most important and love it...them. 

Oh, yeah--we have a blog!

I suppose I should have updated even the title to include our 2 more kids who are now 4 months old.  Oops.  Oh, well.  We've been through a lot and there's no sense in making excuses for why everything isn't updated.  No time like the present!  My goal for the year: post at least twice a month.  (Cake status...hopefully.)  Russell just said yesterday how having 1 kid was a total "walk in the park" compared to our brood of 3 now.  We love them all lots and the work and time is worth it.  :) 

"How To Make Muffins" by Ty Gourlie

A couple of days ago Ty brought me this package of muffin mix (which actually passed the "best by" date last week, but we're still okay) and was asking for muffins.  I had to explain that we actually needed to make and cook the muffin mix before we had blueberry muffins.  So today for lunch while Russell was racing go-karts an the babies were sleeping, that's exactly what we did.  Using my phone camera, I documented the steps we took so you, too can make delicious muffins.

First, don your awesome "ape-err-rin" that may or may not be your dad's old t-shirt that your mom cut for you and tied with a pink ribbon from a present your little sisters received the day before.

 Next, line the cupcake tin with...liners.  Choose your colors wisely.

 After you help pour in both ingredients (mix and milk), mix carefully by stirring in a circle.  As shown below, it helps to say, "Mixing...mixing...mixing..."

 While your mom checks on a fussy sister in the other room, sneak a lick off the spoon and leave a big ring around your mouth so you can obviously get caught.  To ease the situation, say, "It tastes good" to make it seem like you were supposed to taste it.  All good chefs/bakers do this.

 When the batter's all mixed up, scoop some into the muffin tins.  Help from your mom is probably a good thing here.

 "Accidentally" get some on your hand so you can lick it off.

 When the muffin pan has to go into the oven, throw a tantrum because you can't eat all of the batter.  (Excuse the mess and un-made bed, please.)

 Get over your tantrum and come back into the kitchen with your spoon and for protection, your blanket.

 While the muffins are baking, make a smoothie.  Get out bananas, blueberries, yogurt, and milk.

 After half of the ingredients are in the blender cup, decide you would rather eat the yogurt than put it in the smoothie...err...milk blended with berries and bananas.

 Make sure to watch the muffins baking!

 Tell your mom when the "ding! ding! ding!" happens and yell "It's ready!"

Admire your hard work.  Good job, baker.

While eating the muffins and smoothie, Ty asked me to sing "a muffin song."  Good thing I know one!  We repeated "Ty-Ty is the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man.  Ty-Ty is the muffin man..._______________" and switched up the last phrase each time.  I love spending time with my biggest little muffin.

30 Weeks

I can't decide how I feel about being pregnant right now.  Do I like it or not?

Like:
-feeling babies move
-reason/appetite to eat basically as much as I want (an extra 600 calories a day?  You know that's not all calories from broccoli!)
-knowing we'll have more kids (because we usually like the one we have lots)
-sympathy/attention from others (I hope that's not wrong/selfish, because it's kinda true)
-wearing cute maternity clothes
-not having to "suck it in" in a swimsuit or any other tighter article of clothing
-Ty kissing or hugging my tummy
-easier taking care of babies inside than out!

Not like:
-feeling babies move up into my ribs, down in my bladder, and an occasional painful jab
-swelling feet & legs=shoes uncomfortable and restless sitting/standing 
-low energy
-harder to take deep breaths
-easily(-er) irritated
-feeling the need to pee all the ding-dong-dang time (the other night: midnight, 3 a.m., 7 a.m. and I usually have a pretty strong bladder!)
-pillows taking priority over Russell in bed

When people ask how I'm doing, I say, "Just fine." or "I'm good!" which really isn't a lie.  All things considered, I AM fine: no bed rest, no crazy pains, no gestational diabetes, no nausea or sickness, and no super premature babies.  If we are comparing how I feel now with how I felt a year ago, I'd probably say, "Not so great."  Maybe my best response should be, "All things considered, I'm a little uncomfortable, but I really am doing well.  Thanks for asking."

Anyway, here's a 30-week visual:

Cheaps McGee

It's no secret that I like a good bargain.  It's also no secret that I find them.  If I come home from shopping without a crazy good deal, that means I haven't purchased anything.  It's a hobby and slight obsession of mine; the manufacturer's suggested retail price is The Man and I like to stick it to him.  Boo-ya.  Anyway, there are some things that I don't have to have a super deal on, mainly because they are necessities. 

That being said, I went to Target today (where I found the following 70%-off: dress for $7.48, leggings for the girls 2 pairs black, 2 pairs hot pink for $1.50 each, and cute shoes a size too big for Ty at $3.88) to buy shampoo and conditioner.  In the past I have purchased shampoo and condish at Costco, but I got sick of having a huge bottle in the same flavor too quickly.  The stars aligned just right in the shampoo aisle as I picked out my Pantene Pro-V hair washers:
Original price for 28 oz. bottle: $7.29 each
Sale price: $5.50 each
Promotion: free travel-size shampoo with purchase (ended up being out, so I got 10% off instead!)
Store coupon I had: $1 off
Mfg. coupon I had: $3 off 2

Is that like the best deal ever?  No, but it was real nice to come out with 2 big bottles of shampoo for less than the price of one.  :)  That's all.

The REAL challenge lately has been trying to furnish and put together the house we just moved into (renting for a year) for less than $468, aka our puny tax return.  So far, we're doing pretty well and have gotten lots of stuff off of our list.  Is it decorated beautifully?  Heck no, but we do have couches to sit on, a dresser for the girls' clothes, a TV stand, random organizational things, a decent kitchen garbage can, some wireless xbox connection thing, and other Lowe's odds and ends.  We still need, however, some blackout curtains for Ty's room and a few other small things that will have to be purchased with the $70 we have left.  Let's just say that Craigslist has been scoured and the key to finding furnishing deals for 2-hand stuff is patience...and a bad housing market so people are moving away and want to sell their stuff for cheap.  (Just trying to look on the bright side here!) 

I'll admit: trying to do stuff within a strict budget has been a little bit fun.  It kinda ups the ante of the "find a bargain" game.  I should apply this to more (as in all) of our financial areas.  The problem I have with that is that then I may have to pass up on good deals because it's not "needed" in our budget right then...  Dilemmas.  My apologies that this has gotten so boring and long.  Oops.  I guess that's what happens when Russell starts back up being gone all day!