Christmas Bells are Ringing

 Well, we have finally arrived. I feel like I have been looking forward to Christmas and preparing for it and dreaming of it for quite a while now. And then today I woke up and realized that this is the last Sunday before Christmas and my parents come in just a couple of days! I am really looking forward to their visit and getting to have two full weeks off of work to just relax and spend time together as a family. I have been especially hard at work this past week making sure that I have less to do while on break. I've been packing my schedule at work to see as many of my kiddos as I can before I go on PTO and prepping all of the end of the month stuff since I will be gone for the actual end of the month. And at home, I've been busy buying and wrapping and cleaning and re-organizing and baking. I'm really glad we've been doing the Light the World advent calendar because I do feel like that has helped me stay focused on the Savior in spite of everything else in my life that threatens to monopolize my thoughts and efforts. I'm grateful for my nativity, the decorations around our house, Christmas lights, presents under the tree, Christmas music all the time, treat plates for us and our neighbors and ministering families, holiday tradition sharing at work, kids' pj party at school and all the cute photos and videos that came home of that and the kids' happiness and excitement about it. I am looking forward to Levi and Emery's reactions to presents on Christmas and to getting to be with grandma and grandpa. Despite coronavirus still ravaging the world all around us, there is much to be grateful for this year. 

Levi's class (Bluejays) all dressed up for their Christmas music performance!

They got to decorate and eat cookies. I had signed up to bring pink and green icing but when I put in my Kroger order for pick up, apparently the store was out of green icing so it substituted red! So the kids in Levi's class only had red and pink icing to decorate with. It was just one of the many things wrong with that Kroger pick up order. 

Levi and his very best friend at school, Jackson. I think they're pretending to be penguins in this picture. 

They also got to watch Scamper the Penguin during their quiet time which really brought back childhood memories when Levi told me about it! 

Emery also got to decorate and eat cookies at the holiday party in her class.

We found out last Friday that Emery will soon be moving out of this toddler class that she is currently in and up to Flamingos which is a primary class like Levi's. I am a bit nervous about the transition for her but Ms Faye is confident that she is ready and that it is the best thing for her at this time. 

The teachers videoed the class doing its performance and I'm so glad they did because it's hilarious. I have no idea what words they are singing most of the time but they are all very enthusiastic haha. 

Check out that single leg stand! 

Acroyoga queen on Daddy's back! 

Levi and Emery created a "city" the other morning while I was cleaning up from breakfast. Levi was very excited to show it all to me, especially the ninjas with their grappling hooks. 

One of the Light the World invitations was to do some art and share it with someone. So last Monday the kids and I spent quite a bit of time raking up the leaves in the front yard and then Levi and Emery collected their favorites and we did art with them. 

Emery wanted to just keep painting and painting. I was only able to get her to stop when I told her that the paper would start to rip and fall apart if she put any more paint on it! And even then there were some tears when it was time to clean up. I love that she and Levi both love art though. 

Christmas Jammies!

 We took these this morning as soon as I got up. No make-up, and Emery and I with our hair all a mess, and I love it. This is real. This is us. 

Henndigo Time!

I'm realizing that I have settled into writing a blog post once a month rather than every other week. I always mean to do it but even with us not attending church in person, for some reason it is still hard to find time for it on Sundays! This is especially true lately because I have been taking an emotional self-reliance class through the church on Sunday afternoons. I have really appreciated this class and like it a lot but we are taking a pause this week due to the holiday. I will be happy to get back to it next week. I feel like the class is a really good mix of gospel principles and sound mental health best practices and education. It is very practical and uses the right techniques for encouraging positive change such as having an accountability partner and setting specific goals for each week. I am not always the best at doing them but I have still really appreciated the invitations. I feel like pretty much every week has something I can relate to or have struggled with. Identifying and changing incorrect thinking patterns, managing anger, coping with anxiety and depression, etc. It is ALL stuff I can use more of in my life for sure. Just this morning I was struggling and lost my temper with Levi. I feel awful about it. Here I am trying to teach him how to manage his intense feelings of frustration and anger and I'm not exactly setting a great example for him. Proof that we all need the power of Christ's atonement in our lives. I pray I can change for the better. 

Anyway, the holiday season is upon us now and I feel like the world is grasping onto it and diving into it even more than usual this year. I think we all could use some positivity and cheer after the dumpster fire that 2020 has been. This Thanksgiving was definitely less Thanksgivingy than I'm used to. It was hard not to just mope around knowing that my whole family (Mom and Dad and Katie and Kendall and Eric and Natachia and Patrick) were all celebrating together and Eric and I and the kids were just at home trying not to make it just another Saturday. We did have a good day though. In the morning we went to Hope park in Frisco and played nerf gun wars with Matthew and Valerie and Silva. That was a lot of fun. I LOVE how well Silva and Emery play together and how genuinely happy they are to see each other and spend time together. Levi loved playing nerf guns and Emery had fun driving around Levi's power wheels while we played. I tried to convince Silva to take a turn driving or even to just ride in it with Emery but she wasn't having it. Oh well. 

Anyway so then we can home and did lunch and quiet time and then Levi and Eric and I played Smallworlds while Emery napped. Levi is surprisingly good at adult games like that! He beat Eric and we barely had to help or prompt him at all! I think he does extra well because he doesn't play like an adult. For example, he chose squares to conquer or shoot for based on the pictures he liked on them- like a certain farmland that had the picture of a cool city on it or the swamp with what he thought were very interesting animal skeletons on it. I think it kind of helps bring back the wonder of the game a little bit. Makes me realize that the game can be fun for more than just doing well at winning points but that you can let it transport you into a bit of a fantasy world. Levi also does well because he is not afraid to be aggressive! He is a surprisingly aggressive player and good at strategy for his age. Eric started teaching him chess last week and I wouldn't be surprised if Levi gets a knack for it and starts doing well at it young. It would be cool to have a brilliant strategiest as a son... I think. Haha. 

So yeah, after we finished our game and Emery woke up, I made us a simple Thanksgiving dinner. Levi had requested mac and cheese and Emery wanted ham so we had ham and mashed potatoes and creamed corn and mac n cheese (and some carrots and celery because I needed something that wasn't loaded with butter or cream haha). It was all DELICIOUS and a pretty easy meal to make really but it still made me sad that it was just us around the table. Even with apple cider in our wine glasses and egg nog and pumpkin pie for dessert it still didn't really feel like Thanksgiving. I'm very grateful that my parents are coming for Christmas. I think that will really help it feel special. 

Speaking of Christmas, the last couple of days since Thanksgiving, getting ready for Christmas has been my focus. The kids and I decorated the house on Friday and finished decorating the tree yesterday and Eric put up our outside Christmas lights. It all looks wonderful and I just love seeing our mantel all decorated and our tree all lit up and my favorite Christmas songs playing. It makes me feel calmer and happier. Today, the kids helped me fill the bags for our advent calendar. I am excited to do it with them this year now that Levi is old enough to understand the Light the World better and really participate. I feel like it will help us remember Christ this Christmas season and not get overwhelmed. 

So yeah, those are my thoughts today. Now here's a snapshot (actually several) of our life over the past month :)

Finally finished our laundry room and I am obsessed with how it turned out! I especially love our metal sign! It's so unique and awesome. 

The kids and I made salt crystal leaves as a fall science experiment.

I absolutely love these two and their silliness! 

The kids came down with a virus (not COVID) Halloween weekend so we didn't get to go trick or treating, but we still carved some pretty sweet pumpkins! 

Very messy ghost cookies. Notice how Levi insisted on putting more than two eyes on many of his ghosts haha.They might not look like much but they were DELICIOUS! 

My sweet girl just loves babies! She was very interested in Levi's soccer teammate's little brother and gave himlots of hugs and high fives haha.

She was just very happy to pink tights and sparkly shoes on. I adore her zest for life! 

Upping his selfie game haha

Showing off his win at Tokaido

I love it when Emery falls asleep during quiet time and Levi and I get to have some one-on-one time.

I took a plunge and dyed my hair with henndigo! I had a major freak out right after I did it because it looked AWFUL. It wasn't red at all and actually had a greenish tint to it. Yikes! But after a couple of days once I got all the excess indigo washed out and the henna had had a chance to oxidize, I like it. It's not exactly what I had pictured in my head but it still looks good and my hair is seriously so soft and less kinky and frizzy now so that's pretty cool! 

Taking advantage of some late fall sunshine! 

He came home with this from school and I love the things he listed as being thankful for! He clarified that "Cars" means Cars 2 the movie. Haha.

My kids 100% favorite place to be on earth is on their daddy's lap. They will choose it every single time. 

They picked out Christmas ties today. 

Advent calendar done and up and hopefully stays out of reach of my little thieves haha. 

 

Flush goes the Potty

 

Wow, I can't believe that it been over a month since I wrote a blog post. I kept meaning to but it's been a bit of a busy month. First, there was Katie and Kendall's wedding which was beautiful and wonderful and perfect (pictures from that to go on a different blog post which I am not going to write tonight haha)! Then it was General Conference (which was exactly what I needed to hear and sooo refreshing after the agonizing experience of watching the first presidential "debate" the previous Wednesday), then one Sunday I was busy all day doing my TMR TOTs course (which was very cool, very applicable and I'm excited to see how it works for my babies with torticollis! I'm already trying it with three of my kiddos and they all are seeing modest but good results with it so far!) and then the last two weeks I have been doing an emotional resiliency class through church for an hour on Sunday afternoons. I REALLY like the class. Time seems to fly by and I wish we had longer to talk about each subject. And I really like the format. It pairs gospel teachings with sound mental health knowledge and practices of the day and I like that it includes having an accountability partner and commitments we agree to each week. I feel like I would love to do the whole class again because each week I feel like I would like to delve even deeper into each topic and practice them in my life. I haven't been the best at keeping my commitments yet but I have been trying to do one of them pretty consistently which is writing down one unique thing each day that I am grateful for. I feel like that has been helpful for me. A couple of weeks ago, Katie texted and asked me what small, day-to-day things in life make me happy, and I couldn't hardly think of anything! And that made me a little sad and made me really think about myself and where I am emotionally. So writing down my grateful things has been a little helpful in helping me to realize that there are little good things each day and that these little things do bring me joy. I don't spend much time being bubbly happy. But I do feel satisfaction, pride in my children/patients/my accomplishments, and contentment with things. I don't laugh super often but I do smile at my children when they're funny or sometimes when Eric and I are hanging out together and our conversation turns ridiculous. I feel like maybe sometimes I put undue pressure on myself or just wonder "Am I happy enough?" "Am I supposed to be feeling more warm, carefree, peace and joy?" "Does my lack of exuberance or excitement mean I'm depressed?" "Are my emotions being dampened by some sort of hormonal imbalance or something?" "Or is this all just because I am an adult raising small children during troubling times and coping with the stresses of my many responsibilities?" I realize that I have nothing to gauge my own life or emotions against. With a lack of close friends in my stage of life, I don't have a lot of other mothers I can chat with about personal things. I still long for that but am not sure how to foster such relationships at this time. Especially as the weather is turning colder and rainier and COVID still limiting indoor activities,  the last two playdates I've had planned with other mamas have both had to be canceled due to the weather. And I find myself reading about other people's fictional friendships in the novels I like while wishing I had some like theirs of my own.

Anyway, the election is growing nearer and nearer and I feel like the weight of it is pressing down so much. I just can't wait for it all to be over! I took several hours the other night researching which judges to vote for. I feel like most people don't and many people just vote down party lines but I feel like that is not a good way to judge a judge. They're supposed to be impartial and their personal political party theoretically shouldn't matter. So I looked at their peer reviews from the Houston Bar Association and the Dallas Bar Association and read articles. And putting together all those things I feel like I've been able to decipher who I feel will best align with my values. One of the articles I read this morning really showed me that I and the people of Texas have a chance right now to stand up to systemic racism and really do something about the BLM movement. One of the judges up for reelection to the Texas Court of Appeals has done things that are inherently wrong and racist. We have the opportunity now to vote him out and put a more fair judge in his place. But the incumbent is republican and I fear he will win in spite of everything just because most people don't even know anything about him and just vote for his because he has those three little letters (Rep) next to his name on the ballot. I posted about it on Facebook (I had stepped away for a while but unfortunately I have backslid and am battling the habit again) and presented the evidence and pleaded with my TX friends not to vote for him. But my post got remarkably ignored. I only had three likes (all from out of state friends). Which is disheartening. Especially considering that if I post about our house projects, I get 50+ likes and comments. People seem to care more about what my half bath looks like than about standing up for justice. Which is sad and frustrating. But maybe it is just the Facebook algorithms? I know people don't want to get involved in political discussions online and I totally get that, but this year, for me, it's not politics. We're talking about basic human rights and decency. No political party should be ok with the fact that black men are 7 times more likely to be wrongfully convicted than white men. Or that they take 3 years longer on average to be exonerated (when they are)! So I will cast my vote and pray but I do so with a heavy heart that things are not going to change. The Sacrament meeting talks today were about hope, but I find it hard to be hopeful about society and the world right now. 

So yeah, when I haven't been thinking about politics and social justice and taking continuing education courses and emotional resiliency classes, our family has been keeping pretty busy with other things. We finished our half bath and our laundry room is 90% done being decorated. Papi and I built a shelf yesterday for our soundbar in our living room so that Eric and I can finally ditch that old ikea entertainment center that takes up a bunch of space unnecessarily. 

When I was installing the faucet (the final piece of this bathroom reno), I was struggling with some of the nuts being on very tight. Emery was with me and saw me struggling and she was like "Only Papi. Wait Papi." Haha! Apparently, she thought I should wait for Papi to come and help me with it. It was so cute! But I did manage to get the troublesome nuts loosened all by myself. I did the faucet and Eric did the drain and it all went much smoother than the ones in our bathroom did! Guess we've learned a few things. 

We went to the ward trunk or treat on Friday and the kids had a blast while I froze in the 48 deg weather handing out candy to littles in adorable costumes.

Cutest little ladybug ever!

 

And a very handsome pirate king as well :)

They barely made it in the door before they were diving into their candy! 

 Eric and I took the kids to a pumpkin patch on Friday and Emery and Levi both LOVED the bounce house slides and obstacle courses and Emery had a lot of fun riding the ponies too and didn't want to get off when the ride was over. We picked out pumpkins to carve this week and we have some friends we plan to trick or treat with on Halloween. 

Not the best picture of the kids but hey at least they're hugging each other! Haha

Activity days is also going well and keeping me busy now that we are back to having two activities a month. We have a few new girls in our ward since COVID and it makes me glad to see them interacting with the other girls and getting to know them. I want our girls to develop strong friendships with each other because I know personally how important that is when you are a teenager trying to live the gospel in a world where you are in the distinct minority. 

Oh! Also, I can't believe I didn't think to write about this till the end but we officially started potty training Emery! It's been a week and a day now and it's going all right. Last Sunday was our worst day and she still only had 6 accidents which isn't nearly as bad as we had it with Levi when we first started potty training him. And by now she usually only has one pee accident a day. Unfortunately, she has still not yet pooped on the potty. Poor girl's bowels kind of freaked out about the whole potty training thing and she held in all her poop for 5 days! So then, of course, she had a blowout. But since the holding of the poop got her constipated I started giving her prunes and now she is pooping multiple times a day but never in the potty. Yesterday she pooped in the bath. Twice. It was soo gross!! And the worst part is that the kids were taking a bubble bath so all the bubble foam totally covered it up and I had no idea she had done it till I went to wash Levi's hair and noticed that the water was a weird color. I had been letting them play for a while so who knows how long they were playing in poop water?? EWWWW! But thankfully my saint of a husband cleaned the tub for me while I washed the kids thoroughly all over again in the guest bathtub. Anyway, so I read a bunch of blog posts and I've got a few ideas I'm going to try to help her start pooping on the potty. Hopefully, it happens sooner rather than later! 

She looks so grown up with her hair cut and her Halloween jammies! 

He calls this his "Toots machine" and can barely contain himself from laughing when he told me its name. Such a typical boy haha. 

We got to go celebrate Silva's birthday with her family and Papi and Nona and I captured this sweet moment between Emery and Papi. I love the bond they have. 

Had some yard sale success lately and scored this adorable dress for just a couple of dollars. Love me those great finds! 

Levi told me that this is the temple and the blue part is Angel Moroni blowing his horn. 

Silva and Emery playing together conference weekend. 

I'm pretty sure I have the cutest kids on the planet.

Levi, Emery and I created this extensive house with a roof for all their little animal creatures. Levi's attempt at a "cheese" looks so painful haha! 

In case you were wondering what happens if you try to bake cornbread without any baking powder, here you go! Flat and pale as a pancake! It was awful and I threw it away, much to Levi's chagrin because apparently he actually liked it like that!