Not-So Happy Pinning

Am I the only one who feels completely overwhelmed every time I get on Pinterest? I usually click on over to the site with the idea that I am going to quickly search for something in particular. {Today is was....actually, I don't even remember now -I never made it that far. Ha!} Anyway, the page opens up with everything my fellow pinners have pinned recently. I start scrolling and clicking and browsing. And before I know it my mind is filled with recipes I have to make, DIY projects I need to get started on ASAP, and pictures of beautiful homes I will probably never live in. Now my house isn't decorated good enough. My dinners aren't healthy enough. I need to go buy a bottle of OPI nail polish and change my workout routine. My freezer isn't filled with a months worth of meals ready to throw in the Crockpot. And for goodness sake, fall is here and I haven't made a hand print of my baby and turned it into a turkey. Am I the only one who feels this way? I have to limit how often I get on the site because before I know it I have spent Mason's entire nap time glued to a computer screen looking at pictures that only make me anxious. 

{I have, like so many of you, made some very time consuming fun Pinterest projects that I am quite proud of -like the one below. I won't even tell you how long it took me to make 58 fabric rose thingys to put around that mirror.}

Sorry, Brad, I haven't been too happy pinning.

Seeking Joy

It has been 15 months since my baby was born and close to 13 months since I have been unemployed. It has taken me about that long to realize those are both really big life changing events. In the beginning, the fun of playing with my new little baby was entertaining, and even though I missed work I liked the allure of being home all day to be a "homemaker". Anyway, at the end of last year  I realized that being at home all. day. long. with a baby had put me in a rut. So I made some New Year's Resolutions. All of these wonderful things I wanted to do with my time. Truth be told... I've only kept up on one of them (I am determined to stick through Mason's "365 Day Project"  -well, actually "366 day project" since this is a leap year) I wanted to do so much with my time that I think I got overwhelmed when I still wasn't doing anything with my time. 

I've started thinking, "There must be something wrong with me! Why don't I LOVE being a mom everyday? Why don't I LOVE staying home all day with my baby? I should LOVE that I don't have to go to work and juggle kids and work!" Because I wasn't loving it, I began to HATE it. Who want's to hate their job? Then I realized I am just another mom. I don't deal with anything more overwhelming than the next mom. Over the past month or so I have had some great conversations with friends. Just listening to some of their day-to-day experiences with their kids {or life in general} made me realize I am normal! I came across this sweet blog about finding joy in motherhood. She wrote in one blog entry about mothers who feel "stuck in a rut". I feel like it was written for me! And that made me realize that I am not alone, that there is NOTHING abnormal about me. I just need to change my perspective and seek more joy.

Now, please don't start worrying about me. Really, I am just fine. It has just taken me 13 months to learn how to have more joy in my new job of motherhood.

My Day Off

A girlfriend of mine and I spent last Saturday in St George -The WHOLE ENTIRE day. We left at 7:30 in the morning and didn't get back until 9:00 that night. It was the first full day I have spent away from Mason since his birth.  It was the most wonderful, relaxing day I have spent since before I had Mason and I enjoyed every minute of it. I need more days like this. (Being a mother is hard.)

My friend and I went to the temple, got some lunch, and spent the rest of the day shopping. I found a few fun things at Tai Pan and a really cute purse at T-J-Maxx (I brought it home and Ryan called it a bowling bag -it's a little large). 

Oh, and we stopped for some Nielsens Frozen Custard.Yum.

Early Mother's Day Gift

Mother's Day is still a couple week away but the present that I picked out Ryan got for me came yesterday. 

It is a Bosch mixer and a wheat grinder. Now I can make de-lish homemade bread. I have been wanting these for a really long time. My mom always made homemade whole wheat bread growing up. It tastes so much better than the grocery store bread. For a while I started buying my bread at Great Harvest but that stuff is 5 bucks a loaf!! I did the math and the amount of money I would spend on bread purchased at Great Harvest I will have these two appliances paid off in a year and a half. And these puppies last FOREVER. My mom bought her mixer and wheat grinder 25 years ago and they are still running strong. I tried making bread in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but it just doesn't do the job like the Bosch. I made my first batch yesterday {with the help of my mom... actually I watched while she did most of the work} and this is what I got...

...two loafs of golden, whole-wheat goodness! I never thought I would be this excited for kitchen appliances. :)

Hunger Games

 

I just finished the first book a few days ago {I was a little late jumping on board}. I actually listened to it on my iPod -it was all the library had available. I started it having absolutely no idea what it was about. It was really weird at first and it took me a while to accept how their world is different from ours. But, I loved it! My sister just saw the movie without reading the book and she said she didn't like it. I wonder if I would have felt the same way. {Maybe it is kind of like Twilight -you can't appreciate the movie unless you read the book??} Anyway, I loved the story and can't wait to see the movie and read the next two books.

What Is This?

This {not so} little guy was hanging out on our screen door for a day or two. Any idea what it is? Maybe a moth of some kind? Its eyes were HUGE -and kind of creepy. They reminded me of owl eyes. 

Jen, I thought of you {again} when I took the picture!!

9 Months

My little buddy is 9 months today. He learned how to say "da-da" yesterday -the sound, not the name. Although Ryan is convinced he is really saying "Dada". It is really cute when he says it. Since it is a new sound he keeps saying it over and over again. Mason can...

...scoot backwards

...go from his stomach to a sitting position

...play the yelling game {I yell, then he yells and we go back and forth}

...feed himself small pieces of food

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Lisa {a teacher I used to work with} and I ran in together. She's holding her hand out because we were supposed to run in holding hands, but I got distracted looking for Ryan and Mason that I missed seeing her holding her hand out for me.

Lisa and me

My cheer leaders.

Kathy and me.

After the race we went to this yummy restauarant in Boulder City called "The Coffee Cup" it is so good it was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We will definitely be going back.

Since we were already in Boulder City we stopped my the new bridge by the dam. It was crazy windy so we didn't want to take Mason out onto the bridge. So we took turns walking out. We will definitely go back again on a nicer day.

The race went really well. I was a little nervous it would be windy and cold. Just as the race was starting the sun came out and it really warmed up. The wind wasn't too bad until the end. And just as I finished it got really, really windy and overcast. I finished in 1 hour 46 minutes. I was faster than last time I ran, which makes me happy because I wasn't too fast during my training.  It felt good to get back in shape after having Mason. Since I am already in running mode I am considering running the St. George Marathon {if I get in} or the Las Vegas Marathon. Yikes!! Just thinking about it makes me nervous; 26.2 miles is a long way.

Hope you had a great St. Patty's day too!

Giggles

This laugh of his melts my heart. Mason doesn't giggle like this too often, so I was glad to get a recording of it. We were playing with a ruler. I would hand the ruler to him and then then take it away right before he got it in his hands. He thought it was the funniest thing. Awe, priceless!

It's Over

Finally, it's here. MARCH!!! The month of February has finally come to end and I can now eat sweets/desserts whenever I want. So, here is how the month went...

We decided last minute that Superbowl Sunday needed to be a cheat day. I didn't need it (since we were only 5 days into the month) but it was nice, nonetheless. 

Valentine's Day was a scheduled cheat day  and by the time it finally rolled around I was really ready for something sweet. I think I over did it because I had a tummy ache that night from eating too much. 

After Valentine's Day this challenge got really hard (near torturous!!). V day was supposed to be the last cheat day, but then my mom's birthday came on the 25. It was a cheat day for her, but not the rest of us. We heard she and my dad were going to Coldstone and my sisters and I just couldn't help ourselves. We unanimously decided we needed to be supportive daughters and get ice cream too! So we cheated. And then the next day (Sunday) we celebrated my mom's birthday at Sunday dinner and had a piece (or two) of cake and cheated again. 

So, to tally it up, out of 29 days in the month I had sweets on 4 of those days. Not too bad, huh?!

The hardest part was forgetting I couldn't eat sweets and think about getting something and THEN remembering that I couldn't have it. And of course there were times when I would be somewhere (like a bridal shower) and see everyone eating a dessert and wishing I could have some. 

Would I do it again??? Yes, but not for a long, long, long time. For now I am am going to enjoy finally getting to eat my eight boxes of Girl Scout cookies. Tis the season!

Eight Months

My little stinker is 8 months old. He is getting so active. Church is definitely a struggle. Sometimes I wonder why I even go. Even though there are plenty of frustrating days, this little man is still the joy of our lives. He is making some progress in crawling. He occasionally gets up on his knees and rocks back and forth. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if it takes him a good long while to crawl. I can set him on the floor to play, walk away and he will still be there when I get back. 

 

Valentines Day

Valentine's Day was my cheat day in operation "No Sweets February". I made this yummy cake the night before and helped myself to a few pieces throughout the day.

For dinner I decided to try something new. I made a linguine pasta dish. It was OK. I don't think I will make it again. It reminded me of another pasta dish that has made me sick a few times. Ryan liked it, though. 

Instead of going out on V Day we went out this past weekend. We traded babysitting with some friends of ours -which worked out great!

My little valentine, sending you loads of love...

Healthy As a Horse

A few weeks ago we noticed Mason making an odd movement with his head. It was like he was bringing his ear to his shoulder but in a spasm movement. He would do it in a cluster and then they would go away for a few hours and then he would do it again. So we took him to a neurologist and he had an EEG test. The test results showed his brain was perfectly fine and the doctor said as long as he is progressing normally then there shouldn't be anything to worry about. Maybe we were being overly concerd parents but it is really weird when he makes this "tick-like" motion with his head. Anyway, but all is well. In order to do the scan Mason had to be sedated. The picture below is him trying to wake up. He was so drowsy. That little face makes my heart melt!