The Nightmare Before Christmas

The title of this post really only pertains to the first picture. I just wanted to make that clear because most of this post is about taking the kids to see Santa, but this title came to me as I was working on this tree skirt.

My mom has recently discovered Pinterest. I'm not on Facebook or Twitter, so Pinterest (as far as I know) is not available to a non-facebooker like me. However, I have not been blind to the popularity Pinterest has accumulated, therefore when my mom started talking about things on Pinterest, I was curious.

Now, for a little backstory, I've never had a tree skirt. There wasn't really room for a tree in our little condo, let alone a tree skirt spread out on the floor. We had a ginormous couch in our living room. I managed to put a tree up, but I made due without a tree skirt. Because of this, I got excited to decorate for Christmas right around the time we moved. In June. I was really excited about having a large tree, stockings over a fireplace and, of course, a tree skirt.

Fast forward to actual Christmastime and my mom started raving about these tree skirts she found on Pinterest. Being the type of person I am, my first question was, "Where can I buy one?". I am not my mom's child when it comes to artistic/creative ability. I'm analytical, not artsy. I don't like to make stuff. I can barely decorate my house and put an outfit together, let alone MAKE something to decorate my house with. But, I trusted my mother and consented to go through this tree-skirt-creation process.

It wasn't that much fun. Even my mother, who actually carries quite a bit of talent in this department, found the tree skirt making less then enjoyable. For one thing, IT TOOK HOURS. It was definitely a start early and finish over a couple of days kinda project. We didn't start early and we didn't have a couple of days to waste making a STUPID tree skirt. We powered through and finished them in one day. I think I burnt all my fingers.

Anyway, here's the finished product. No, there wasn't any sewing involved. Just a glue gun which, for a person like me, can be very dangerous.



*******

We've been quite busy getting into the holiday spirit around here. Last week, my friend Nicole and I put together a little holiday party for some of our friends. We had a blast. We had good food, played games and chatted. AND! Believe it or not, there weren't any poop incidents. YAY! Go us!

The husbands did talk us into playing a rather weird game. The wives put on blindfolds and felt all the husbands' bare legs then guessed which leg was their own husbands. ????? I'm still not sure I feel about this game, but I did guess right! Wahoo!

We played the white elephant game too. We all had a $5 limit and had to get a gift that related to marriage. When Nicole and I made up the rules, we didn't realize how hard it would actually be to find a gift like this, but everyone did really well! Matt ended up with a "Baby-Making Kit" which everyone knows we DO NOT NEED right now, but it gave everyone a good laugh.

I made a trip down to Payson yesterday so that I could have help with sending out my Christmas cards. The actual "putting together and sending out" part isn't hard. It's the "keeping kids occupied so I can accomplish said putting together and sending out" that's hard. Needless to say, I went down to do Christmas cards and ended up running 5 million errands. Luckily, I have a wonderful mother who loves to entertain her grandbabies while I run around. Makes my life so much easier.

Today was a busy day. We took the Kunkles and the g-babies to see Santa. This is one of those situations where I start asking myself, "What were we thinking?". The clouds did part and shine down on us so that we could get this picture. Shortly thereafter, the photographer came over and told us the picture didn't work and we'd have to take another one. The g-babies were NOT having this and so the second picture could've been sent into the Ellen show to be showcased as a bad Christmas picture. 10 minutes later, we were informed that the first picture had been salvaged somehow and that's the picture we were sent home with. Now, we only have the memory of all the babies screaming their heads off. Don't worry, we are saving for their therapy.



Pudee slept through most of the experience.



Yes Pudee, Christmas does rock.

That morning, we had to write our letters to Santa.

Dear Santa, Holynd wants an elephant. Yep, an elephant. Good luck with that.

We have lots of fun Christmas plans still to come!

Full.

"We'd rather have our hands full, then empty"

I thought of that quote today after finding my driver's license in the CD drive of my laptop. (Thanks Holynd). I got a little upset and thought to myself,

"How would it be to have a laptop that was always clean and never had cards in the CD drive??"

The answer came almost immediately.

"Empty"

There are quite a few times where I catch myself throwing around negative thoughts like that. It doesn't take a lot for the Lord to whisper little answers in my ear.

Question: "What would it be like to drive somewhere without all three kids screaming in my ear?"

Answer: "Unfulfilled"

Question: "Would I be a better parent if Matt and I had saved more money before having kids/had more time for more vacations before having kids/finished graduate degrees before having kids???

Answer: "You'd be worse at it./Your kids are worth 100 times more then a vacation./You'll get to that. For now, I need you here."

Parenting is an amazing thing. It humbles you while at the same time making you proud. I'm so proud of my kids and I become more proud of them everyday. They really now how to humble me though. I love them for that.

I try to take pictures everyday. I like to capture the little moments that will make me laugh when life really gets me down. I think that's why I love blogging. It's really easy to post pictures and include the little story that goes along with it.


Sloane's newest word is "Light". She loves to turn on and off the lights. The problem: She can't reach any of the switches on her own. Sometimes, when I need to keep her preoccupied for a few minutes, I'll put her highchair up to the row of light switches in our kitchen. She loves it.



We very rarely get Pudee to stay calm when he's not swaddled. He loves to be all wrapped up and cuddled. He loves the quiet (came to the wrong house for that buddy). He's such a good baby. So long and skinny too.

Sloane is the messiest eater on the planet. I can't leave her alone with her food or else I have food splashed and thrown everywhere! Holynd struggles with this because she's a little OCD. Holynd does not appreciate it when Sloane tries to kiss her when her face is dirty. "Ew! Mommy! I'm sticky! Sloane touched me! She's gross!"

Holynd is so happy that Sloane is showing an interest in coloring. Well, actually, Holynd thinks that Sloane wants to be her student. If this was a video, you'd get to hear Holynd telling Sloane the ABC's and how to spell her name. "H-O-eleven-S-S-S-5-B-C"

Holynd got to have an early birthday celebration because the Peterson's celebrate family birthdays every second-Sunday of each month. Her cousin made her some really cute bows! We love bows in this house!

The other day, I started to notice that the house seemed to be functioning a little bit better. Things were less chaotic. After assessing the day, I decided that things weren't getting easier, we're just getting used to it.

At the end of the day, when we're tired and exhausted, we never go to bed feeling picked on.

We always go to bed grateful.

PS: Dear Mom, I'm still trying to get over the tree skirt extravaganza. The tree skirt will see it's day in blog world.

I just realized....

Peterson Christmas 2011

Yes, I put pictures of my babies on my tree.

****

Last night I went to go help put together gifts for the Relief Society. While we were working away, we talked about our kids and our troubles with our kids. I opened up about Holynd and her struggles with potty-training. I was a little worried I would be told that I wasn't trying hard enough, not doing it right.... blah, blah, blah.... But I was pleasantly surprised when everyone told me to relax!

One thing that made me laugh about the conversation is that one lady said, "Wow! I just realized that you have three kids under three years old".

WHAT! You JUST realized that! I have eaten, showered or slept regularly in.... well, A REALLY LONG TIME! Hello! Where've you been lady!??!

I just laughed and said there are good days and bad. The good days always make it worth it.

And they do.

Today was a good day.

Today:

Holynd decided to rearrange the dining room furniture.

Sloane and Holynd got into a fight in which Sloane bit Holynd and Holynd clocked Sloane in the head with a Jack in the Box. Holynd's injury is non-existent. Sloane has a black eye.

Sloane broke a glass.

Holynd tried to get crackers out of the pantry by herself and spilled crumbs all over the pantry.

Two sippy cups were spilled, but were, thankfully, full of water. (Yay!)

Holynd threw grapes all over the kitchen because she was trying to throw them up and catch them in her mouth.

I stepped on a grape and it almost scared me to death.

G-ma bought the girls ZhuZhu pets. Probably one of the most annoying toys in the entire world, but it kept the girls totally entertained while I ordered Christmas cards. (Insert mini-celebration here)

Holynd pretended to race the ZhuZhu pets through the kitchen. During the "race" she would sing, "Go ZhuZhu pets! It's your birthday! Go ZhuZhu pets! It's your birthday!"

Pudee slept for about 5-6 hours straight the last two nights.

Pudee snores like his daddy.

I've come to terms with the fact that I can't blame my kids for all my forgetfulness. I locked myself out of the Volvo with my purse and phone inside. All I had was my cart full of groceries. I had to walk into Costco and ask to use the phone to call Matt. I didn't have a single child with me.

Holynd begged to put her panties on by herself. They're on inside-out and backwards right now.

Sloane chased Holynd around trying to kiss her on the head. Holynd loved it and would run around for a little while, then slow down and let Sloane catch her. Sloane got bored with it and Holynd picked a fight with her because Sloane wouldn't chase her anymore. Sloane pulled Holynd's hair and, therefore, won the fight.

See! Probably a more relaxed day at the Peterson household.

Hooray!

Something Came In The Mail....

See I told ya. Most beautiful babies ever.

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.