I'm Going There Someday...

I always hate it when people have babies and then quit updating their blog... Since this is my only attempt at a journal, I'm determined to find time! So, here's what's been going on around here.

Holynd has decided to cycle around and hit a potty-training regression again. Yesterday I got really mad at her. After sending her to room, I sat on my bedroom floor and cried. Parenting sometimes makes me feel very inadequate. I tend to want to control everything and the fact that I can't make my kids obey kills me. Plus, no one likes to clean-up dirty panties. Holynd seems to have gotten that same control-freak gene because she wants to control me and she's doing a really good job!

I love listening to married couples who haven't had kids yet. They seem so sure that their kids will never act-out, disobey, throw tantrums in public etc etc.... because they have the whole parenting thing figured out! What do they think that other parents thought before they had kids???? It's not like I sat there and thought, "I'll probably screw-up and never get my first child potty-trained... It's just not something I want to worry about". Hello! Of course I thought this would never happen to me! I just assumed that everyone else was lazy and didn't discipline enough. Oh, that is so not the case... But...I'm not judging. I've been there. But I'd be lying if I didn't say that I chuckle behind those other couples' backs. My mom likes to tell me all the time, Heavenly Father was a perfect parent and he lost 1/3 of his children. The truth is, parenting is difficult, but so much more fulfilling then anything else a person can do. Plus, if you do end up with perfect kids, all other parents tend to harbor a little bit of hatred for you.

At this point, I'm at a complete loss as to what to do, so right now, I'm at the pray-and-hope-that-someone-else-will-fix-it-for-me stage. I highly doubt someone will knock on my door and tell me exactly how to fix this dilemma, but if it were to happen, I'd be eternally grateful. I know part of it has to do with the new baby because, a week or so ago, she and I had this conversation:

Holynd: Mommy, when is Maddox's mommy going to come pick him up?

Me: Holynd, I'm Maddox's mommy.

Holynd: No your not. You're Holynd and Sloanie's mommy. When is Maddox's mommy going to come get him?

Me: I'm Maddox's mommy and Holynd's mommy and Sloanie's mommy. Maddox's is staying here with us.

Holynd: But I want someone to come get him...

Lovely.

So, while I wait for someone to come and fix this for me, I've been doing the one thing I do really well... complaining. But, the truth is, if potty-training is my biggest problem right now, I'm living a very blessed life. My kids are healthy, my husband loves me and makes it extremely easy to love him, my home is warm and has space for our family to keep growing.... Potty-training seems like a huge deal right now, but Holynd playing in her poopy diaper seemed like a big deal too. Now, that poop-playing experience is just a funny story we tell other couples' to freak them out. I can't wait to read this post years from now and think, "Oh! We were so pathetic!" I'm sure we'll have a good laugh.


****

Moving on, I've been trying to bake more often. I'm really not improving all that much, but I manage to make things that actually resemble the pictures in the cookbook.

Holynd wants her own apron really bad. I haven't really been doing a good job finding her one, so I put my Grandma's apron on her and tie it up so it sort of fits. And yes, I let my kids eat chocolate chips while I bake. They're only little once, let them have chocolate chips once in a while!

****

Over the weekend, we dropped Pudee off at Grandma Kathy's and took the girls up to Temple Square. I love downtown Salt Lake. It makes me miss going to school. I used to get to ride up through downtown everyday. Now, I hardly ever go up there. As always, Temple Square was beautiful.

It was cold, so we spent a good portion of our trip in the Visitor's Center. Sloane wanted to drive the stroller and Holynd wanted to play with all the touchscreens that were at each display. We didn't care. We were there to let the girls have a good time. It's nice to let them run the show every now and then.

A night out wouldn't be complete without dinner. Sloane is at the age where she loves to eat right now... It's only a matter of time before she makes a complete 180 and gets really picky like her sister.

If you'll notice, Holynd is now sitting by Matt, as is Sloane in the above picture. When you go out with two kids, you do a lot of seat switching. Don't go out with two kids expecting to eat, especially if you have a wait before you're seated. Our kids love to play on our phones, but that only lasts about 30 minutes. We exhausted that option while we were waiting for our table.

Pudee is such a wonderful baby. He definitely suffers from Third Child Syndrome. I run around taking care of his sisters all day long. He doesn't get much attention until the girls are in bed for the night. At that point in the evening, he gets really needy because he KNOWS this is HIS time with Matt and I. Since I'm able to get everything I need to get done during the day and get to workout, I'm so, so, SO ok with him doing this.

I know you're all asking yourselves this, so I'll just answer your question. Yes, my babies are the most beautiful babies on the planet. I know. It's crazy.