Thanksgiving 2012!! (pt 1)

WE SURVIVED! I knew our lil boy was an amazing chill baby but even I had my doubts when it came to driving him 24 hours to utah, passing him around tons of different relatives, being around energetic cousins, and then driving 24 hours back again.  But I shouldn't have tho-apparently we have the best kid EVER.

On the way there, there was really only one moment of Jake crying uncontrollably because he was tired of being in the carseat (the rest were hunger related which were quickly fixed), and even then pulling out the ipad and putting on tangled proved just the proper amount of distraction to calm him down.  I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that my 4 month old is already enjoying movies (secretly love it but I know I have to be a responsible parent and should try to limit his exposure early on).  The rest of the trip he was pretty good and if one of us sat in the back with him he was really good.  I have to say our lil mirror was a life saver this trip and I've left it up cause I enjoy checking out his cute lil face as we drive around doing errands.

We were able to make it to utah faster than our drive home cause we brought pumped milk so we wouldn't have to stop every feeding-it proved really helpful.

We pulled in to cortez just a short ways from monticello where cody's grandparents live for some dinner...and jake didn't want to miss out:

We spent the next few days in Monticello, Utah-a really fun small town where EVERYONE knows cody's grandparents.  It was pretty chilly to us but we survived and at least there wasn't any snow on the ground (the roads around there aren't taken care of that well).  Jake was a lil fussy while we were there-prolly just aftershock from all the traveling but he eventually made it back to his usual chill personality, and at least he was great at church on sunday.

playing games with the slades:

One thing I've learned is that it is impossible to take a good pic of everyone

While we were in Monticello I re-learned that God is aware of each of us and without us even knowing can use us to help one another answer each others' prayers-I love re-discovering this fact over and over.  So we were walking into their church building and Grandma Slade discovered a little knitted bootie that looked like a blessing outfit item on the ground.  It was half frozen but she brought it inside and put it on an easel outside the chapel to dry etc.  I didn't think anything more of it and we went to sac meeting and the rest of our meetings.  In between sunday school and RS I went to feed Jake in the mothers lounge.  After a few minutes a sister came in from a different ward.  We chatted and got to know each other and somehow in the course of our conversation it came out that her lil baby was blessed a week ago, and then she totally asked me if I saw a bootie wedged in the side of the rocking chair I was sitting in etc cause she had lost one of her baby's last week.  Apparently they were really special booties that her husband had brought back from South america where he had served a mission or something and every child in their family had been blessed in them but she had lost one of them last week.  Needless to say I was very excited to show her where we had found it.  She was so happy and relieved.  There's no way that it was just a big coincidence-so many things could have happened just slightly differently to where I wouldn't have seen the bootie or wouldn't have met her-what if Jake had gotten hungry sooner? or later? etc, but no, it was totally Heavenly Father answering a mother's prayer-just love that I could help!

To Be Continued...

If only...

I was glancing through my mission journals today, and all I can think is if only....
I'm glad that I kept them because honestly I really don't remember much-a complete a blur, but when I start to read the different entries it all comes flooding back.  It's like i can even feel the atmosphere of the mission and russia-kind of an intense feeling...not bad, just intense.  I don't know if it's code and I teaching mission prep these past few months but I can't help but think....oh man if I could only do it again-I'd do it sooo much better.  I'd handle things soo much better.  Maybe that's why they encourage us to serve missions once we're older-can put our life-earned wisdom to good use.

I can't wait to go on missions with Code-how awesome would that be?? I'd have the best companion ever! It'd be so much fun and so rewarding to teach/testify together every day!  That's really the only thing that can throw a major wrench in the works on the mission (in my opinion).  Cause you'll always face opposition or rude people/rejection etc, but as long as you have a tight companion and know that you have each other's backs and can work well together and help make the work fun-stay positive, it's all golden.  But if you have contention in the companionship/can't seem to find a good rhythm together-forget it, it's REALLY hard to stay positive and enjoy the work. (luckily I didn't struggle too much with this issue on the mish).

Not that I would seek after it or expect it, but I've always thought it would be so cool to serve as mission presidents-missionary work is so awesome and the chance to help move the work forward and touch their lives?- pretty cool....of course, I can say this pretty lightly seeing as most of the actual work would be done by code-haha but I just think it's cool to be so close to the work which is why I love our mission prep class.  They're starting a sunday morning class that we'll teach/oversee for those youth who are preparing now but still going to mutual/are busy on weeknights.  I know, pretty crazy how many callings we have and sometimes it's hard/frustrating, but I guess we need the blessings :)

I like how it is teaching me that though taking care of lil jake is important-it's not the end all of my existence and I can still contribute to the world, and it's teaching us how to fit jake into our lives rather than him becoming our lives which I think is a good thing.

A funny excerpt from my mission journal-towards the end of my mission in Rostov serving with Sister Piko:
"Today was eventful....we got in 2 times=good.  I almost got kissed by a creepy 30 yr-old man= not so good.   So we were trying to get in to a podyez (stairwell) and this guy kept telling us it wasn't worth it etc, but we said "pusmohtreem" (we'll see).  We get in and go knock and get in.  Then later this guy came in-apparently was friends with the lady we were teaching.  So we do our shpeel and then we leave and he leaves with us as we go down to the next floor and he is still talking to us.  We hint that we need to keep knocking/talking etc and he goes to hug me it seems, but then says "moshnuh tselavaht?" (can I kiss you?) and TOTALLY goes in for it-not waiting for a response! and panicking, I turn my head and he totally followed me and I finally managed to get out "neelzya nahm!" (we're not allowed) and he finally backed off, and turned to sister Piko who had these huge eyes and quickly stuck out her hand for him to shake.  He muttered "no lahdnuh" (oh alright) and left.  We stood there in shock  trying not to laugh.  I couldn't get his face (all close with puckered lips) out of my mind-shudder!"

never a dull moment in the rostov mission....

moderation in all things

I'm learning a lot about myself these past few days.  I've learned how addicting social media can be- not  in a "I must tweet tee-hee" sort of way, but in a time-sucking mind-numbing sort of way.  I have decided to fast from facebook and twitter for a week which, for a newly stay-at-home mom, is kind of a big deal.  I can't tell you how many times I've been sitting around-especially while feeding jake- and I pick up my phone and hit the facebook app and the next second exit out thinking-whoops, nope.  It's this weird reaction that I do without even thinking.

Now don't get me wrong, I love facebook in its ability to keep me updated on my friends and their lives etc, but let's face it-I don't think many relationships are truly strengthened through facebook.  It's like...instead of having a handful of really strong friendships you trade it for hundreds of really shallow/ superficial ones.  Creepy ones, where you know all about your "friends" but other than hitting "like"     -how personal- you never speak to them.  Be honest, when was the last time you actually used the message option to message someone something that was longer than a few sentences.

Again, I'm realistic.  I realize that if I give up facebook for good I will be woefully out of touch with a lot of family etc and will miss out on a lot of cute pictures/announcements (babies, marriages, etc)....but I've fallen into the all-to-easy trap of letting facebook replace my efforts of being "social".  And what do you have when this happens?  a bunch of people glued to their devices somehow being "social" all day while not saying a word to the people who are actually physically around them....weird...

I realize that it's not facebook's fault-it's mine.  I've gotten socially lazy.  Why pick up the phone and call someone to "catch up" or let them know I'm thinking of them etc, or heaven forbid-even go out somewhere! when I can just stalk them online and hit "like" (awww...warm fuzzies....)

So I dunno....I want to work harder at checking facebook less....like maybe I'll check Twitter in the morning when I feed Jake and Facebook at night when I feed him before bed-and no other time.  Yeah...I like that idea...it's amazing how many little extra things you can do throughout the day when you're not checking facebook for the 100th time even though nothing has changed for the past 10 times you've checked-you know what i'm talking about.  What do I do when I have a spare minute in between activities you ask?  Try thinking.  I know, it's weird, but seriously- just sit and muse for a few minutes people.  Get lost in your thoughts.  Trust me, it'll be way easier to get ideas, and good ones, if you're not on facebook all the time, and your life will be better for it.

And on top of that I will try my best to keep in touch with my friends.  I have so many amazing friends and yet it's too easy to get lost in your daily routine or you worry that you'll be bugging them/interrupting their daily routine etc....but who cares.  Life flies by too fast and if I'm not careful I'll be always talking about my friends in the past tense cause we won't be talking anymore etc.

Try to not be as socially lazy too-you'll be glad you did! food for thought....

that having been said, I still post my blog posts to facebook cause if I don't- no one reads them (ironic I know).

catchin' up

We had as much fun as you could have at an election party where your candidate loses :)
It was fun to go all out tho and watch the process-I may have watched it before when I was a teen but who knows...maybe I didn't watch all of the diff news' coverages etc.  Jake liked the balloons especially and I couldn't really get him to look at me for a single picture.

apparently ol' glory looks tasty...

we had pizza and red white and blue donuts-how patriotic?

The other night Code said he had the evening planned.  We drove over to this place that I had never heard of before off of Fry- Ritter's frozen custard.  It felt like the kind of snack shop that you go to at your neighborhood pool.  It was a really nice night-sadly that's still something to be excited about at 7 pm on a Nov night in texas.  I was surprised at how cheap they were-we got two dipped waffle cones (one scoop and 2 scoops respectively) for the same amount that it would cost for one dipped waffle bowl at marble slab.  I still don't understand the difference between custard, ice cream, gilato, or frozen yogurt, but it was really good, and a fun cheap option.

The past few days I've stopped putting the bug/sun cover on jake's car seat and he's seemed to enjoy outings more-maybe he feels like he can see more of what's going on now/interact more etc.

And in other good news, I found the cutest short peacoat for 25$ at old navy-they're having a 50% off sale on all outerwear so check it out! 

Can't wait to actually be able to wear it in a week for our Utah trip haha.  Which, btw, I'm so excited for! I can't wait to show Jake around campus, to visit BYU's museum of art, and the springville museum of art, see family, eat at all our fav restaurants and enjoy the cooler weather in general.  The only tricky part is getting there-24 hr drive....ugh...at least getting there shouldn't be too bad cause we do have some frozen milk saved up so we wont' have to stop for EVERY feeding but still...it won't be as quick as we like to make it.

Detoxing...and venting...but mostly detoxing :)

So you might say I still have a little of the election day blues... :(  But life goes on and just because I don't agree with a lot of the way our President chooses to run our country, doesn't mean that I can't still be a force for good.

Mainly, I'm just tired of the negativity everywhere from both sides.  I really feel like our nation is divided which isn't good.  I'm fasting from facebook and twitter just to detox from all the negativity out there.  I don't want to hear the gloating from the obama supporters.  I don't want to hear the insults from the Romney supporters, and I especially don't want to hear all the conservative media turning on Romney and suddenly pointing out all the things he did wrong-when a few days ago they were lauding him as their hero.  I'm just sick of all of it.

While I'm sure many conservatives don't agree, I honestly don't think Pres. Obama is evil or an awful person.  He may have different ideologies than me, but I don't picture him in the oval office twirling his mustache and cackling thinking what he can do next to ruin this country....just doesn't make sense.

At the same time, for the sake of fairness, I want those who voted for Obama to understand something.  Republicans aren't evil either.  I know your party would have you believe that we Republicans/conservatives/those who lean to the right, are heartless and cruel.  We want to kick people out of our country, take away healthcare from old grandmas and grandpas, take away women's rites, and the most comforting thing we can say to the poor is: get a job!  

We want to help people, but we want to go about it in a different way-in a way that will help people help themselves and grow because of it.  Does that mean we think handouts are always bad? not necessarily-depending on the situation, but we believe that less gov is best.  It's just that.... we can't help but notice that a country that doesn't uphold its laws and a government that isn't controlled and held in place isn't as great as you think it is.

Now, when it comes to Obamacare:  Again, I agree that we need more affordable options when it comes to health care and especially an affordable option for those who aren't employed/are self-employed and therefore self-insured....I just don't agree with how Pres Obama is going about it.

I don't like how he pushed it through leaving no one any time to actually read through it and decided whether or not it was the best way of going about reforming healthcare.

I don't like how there are things all throughout the bill that have nothing to do with healthcare such as a 2K tax if you sell your house.....can someone connect the dots for me on this one??? hidden things like that to help pay for it.
I don't like how Pres Obama single-handedly increased our country's debt more than most previous presidents combined in order to do it, and then points to Bush for his problems.
And mostly I don't like that he's taking away our choice when it comes to opting out of health care.  If I don't want to pay for or have health care-that's my choice- it's none of the government's business but, now I'll be fined if I try to do that.  That's just not right.

Again, I agree we need affordable healthcare for those who can't afford private health care, and it should be a choice/option for people-fine, but we shouldn't be penalized for opting out of it/or forced to pay for it when we personally don't want to use it.  The way that Obama decided to do it is NOT the only way we could have done it.  So in recapping: agree with the concept, but not the method by which it was carried out.

Oh....and I believe in defending the declaration of independence, constitution, and bill of rights:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" 

I believe that women have the rite to make decisions about their body-like deciding whether or not to have sex.  My problem comes when they've already CHOSEN what to do with their body, and then (because they don't like the consequences) they want to CHOOSE the CONSEQUENCES too.  It's just not what I was taught growing up.  I was taught that there is choice and accountability.  (of course there are exceptions to this) but If you don't want your baby, give it to someone who does, but don't destroy its pursuit of life and happiness.  That's why I'm pro-life.

That is all.  Now I am detoxing for good from all of these subjects.  I know that this was ranty but please, no ranty comments-even if you agree.  I'm done.

the difference between boys and girls.

Oh you may think this will be a long and detailed entry disparaging boys for being different than us girls, but no....really it's just me saying how jealous I am of them.

ok, ready? here's the difference:

"boys are ready for the day once they're done showering."

that's it.

Oh sure, some of the more aware ones may take a minute to put some gel in their hair but really that's it.  and if, heaven forbid, being rushed caused them to miss any steps after their shower, well...they'd still be pretty much ready to go.

Girls on the other hand....the shower is our first step, the foundation if you will.  No other steps can really be done until this first and crucial step, but it is only the FIRST step of MANY steps.  Though we are technically clean, the shower is something we merely have to get out of the way so that we can start getting ready for our day.  Because if you do the other steps without the foundation of a shower you feel kinda gross throughout the day.  Especially if you have curly hair and need to scrunch it-then a shower is imperative.

Why should any of this matter?  As a mom, we have to figure out how to do the above while we have kids screaming in the next room- news flash: we dont' get to do the above.  On a good day I'm able to shower, throw my hair up in a messy wet bun thing and throw on the closest thing in the closet (0 thought).  Now while most guys see no problem with this, we girls have a hard time feeling nice unless we put effort into ourselves-and just managing to take a shower doesn't cut it.  We feel good when we actually take the time to do our hair, put on make up, and actually get to stand in the closet for more than 1 minute picking out an outfit.

moral of the story:
i'm clean, but most days I don't feel very pretty.

(I actually look forward to sundays for the mere fact that I can "do" my hair and while I feel lil pangs of guilt while code is left to keep jake happy when i'm sure he wants a relaxing sunday morning-i push those aside cause I like feeling pretty at least one day out of the week ;)

Happy Halloween!

So this week has been pretty fun so far.  Monday we went and voted!  It was very exciting for me-the first time in person since before it was always absentee ballots in college or I was out of the country serving a mission.  I didn't get a sticker though :( oh well.  It was cool to see a bunch of parents with their kids-showing them how important it is etc.  Tuesday we're going to go over to my parents for an election party and to watch the electoral votes come in :)  (I hope it ends well)

Jake had his first halloween!  Sadly the weather turned warm here again and while it was a nice night to be out-it was still too warm to wear his batman costume so we settled for an I love my mummy shirt :)
It seems to be impossible to find a pic where we're both looking cute so I'll be a true mom and make the sacrifice and use the ones where he's smiling/looking happy and cute.

We of course had our traditional halloween fare which might make sense if we ever live in a place that gets below 50...chili with fritos (I can't believe code had never eaten chili with fritos before! it was the only way to get me to eat chili as a kid), ghost rolls, and root beer.  Don't ask me why but you always have root beer on halloween-shrug and if I put more effort into it I would have bought dry ice for it.

After dinner we went over to fairfield and walked around the neighborhoods watching all the kids trick or treating.  It was interesting...maybe this is a texas only thing? or a houston only thing?  or I'm just way out of touch with halloween...but I'd say with 50% of the houses, the people sat out on lawn chairs in their driveways or in the cul-de-sacs with their candy and waited for the kids to just walk up to them....no door bell.....or anything.  It also seemed to be the rule of thumb that these adults who sat out like that had a glass of wine/beer etc, and by the end of the night around 8ish they were already pretty drunk....cause that's what i want my kids to see as they go trick or treating....

I mean we were walking by one house and some grandma who we learned a lil later was kinda tipsy, called out and said something about jake and so we were all: you wanna see him? so we rolled up their driveway and chatted for a few minutes-way nice, but kinda drunk.  I mean, she kept saying how cody and whitney were such great names........ok?.......

anywho, i may be old fashioned but you make the kids come ring the doorbell and say trick or treat, but that's just me, and if you're gonna drink and be all adult then have someone else hand out the candy.  It was fun though.

We got home and watched the best halloween movie of all time- hocus pocus.  Man I love that movie-code and I basically spent the whole movie anticipating the great lines and saying, "oo I love this next part!"

all and all it was a great halloween and we can't wait for next year when jake will be even bigger and we can kinda justify using him to get candy...the drunk grandma gave us a bag of peanut m&ms and a milky way and that's all we had-lightest halloween treat wise ever for me....I must be growing up....or too lazy to go buy candy for myself :)