Making it through Winter & End Of Week Re-cap

Bettrr.  Most people don't know that we don't use the heater in our house.  We use a fireplace and burn wood. We kindof live like mountain men. Part of our living room is full of sticks and wood and looks like some rough terrain. Good thing Sunny is old enough to not trespass and Addie is too small to explore.

I love my house to look "pretty" but that ain't happenin' this winter.

It'S much cheaper to live like this, but when the fire goes out, it is chilly.

When we moved into this house, we noticed the heat source was electric not gas. Running the heater on electric is super expensive.  We called up to get a quote on installing a gas line so we could have heat. It would be about 8,200. Why on earth did nobody install it before us. This house was built in 1973. Geez.

What baffles me is nobody did anything to this house as far as upgrades. We've done it all. Someone did create a garden, and a very fine one. So whoever you are, good job!

The people who lived in our house before us had two blended families living together. How they did it with 4 plus kids,  I don't know. Before we made an offer on this house, we walked through it. It was disgusting. The carpet had paint and dirt and nail polish all over it. The tile was the original, counters were missing, weeds were high outside. It was bad and the people that inhabited it were pigs.

We knew we were in a long haul and it would take all our savings and more to upgrade it. We tore it apart, the walls, tile, carpet, counters, cabinets, it all came out and replaced with new. We were minimal in hiring. We did most ourselves.  My mom was going through a nasty divorce during that time and we were living with her to help her cope while we worked on it.

So after putting so much money into the house, we wondered if we could just save the 8,000 and buy a fireplace insert instead. We decided on that.

I love our fireplace, but keeping a fire going isn't always easy. Rodney is a master scout man and is very experienced in that area, but I always struggled in my hiking and survival class at the Y, and got a B instead of an A because I couldn't start a fire from scratch with my bow and drill.

With a new baby, I have made every effort to keep our place warm for her. I can endure the chill, but keeping my babies warm is my top priority.

I hated the heat last summer, but right about now, it doesn't sound so bad. Can't wait for spring and more sunshine.  Winter is not my fondest season.

So, this week here is what we did:


We bought a new front door. No more bright coral orange door.  It makes our house look more sophisticated and less Pee-wee Herman-ish.

Rodney sliced his finger installing said door and got 8 stiches.

In other news, Addie Olivia is being a royal pain. She always wants to be held and cries until she's held again. Good thing she's cute.

She is also sleeping in our bed. I never thought I would do the co-sleeping stuff, but it's happening and I got to change this fast. I am getting more sleep though and I wonder if that's more important then starting a bad habit.

She is getting big and rolling now. She is fasinated by rolling from her back to tummy. Its so fun to watch. Sunny on the other hand is doing well. She is getting better and cleaning up after herself and is really maturing. She can be a bit rough with her sister, but has a deep love for her.

Symptoms of Toddleritis

Toddleritis-A treatable and curable form of mental exhaustion that comes from raising toddlers.

If you are a mom of a toddler, then you know that this is real.

Stay at home mom's are known to suffer from it more then working out of the home mothers.  Good thing it's treatable.

Here is how I know I have toddleritis-

I start to yell. I do not consider myself one who yells, but rather bottles up frustrations and has one huge explosion. That is probably worse.  Usually it happens once a week when I feel I am loosing control.  Baby needs to nurse non-stop and Sunny is jeolous that I can't hold her as well, so she starts climbing on me while I am nursing, I ask her to stop, she takes it in a negative way, and before we know it, tantrums or some other acting out starts to happen.

I know I said I was not going to nurse this time around, but I will leave this for another post. There is a huge reason why I am nursing this time around and it's not easy.

Here is another toddleritis symptom I have:

Baby is fast asleep. Sunny is loud and I am afraid she will wake up baby. I try to have quiet time with her and read. She grows bored after 15 minutes and decides to play in her room. She sings and dances and has fun. Except she becomes loud. Very loud. I sshhhhh her and she becomes upset and takes that as another negative. Baby wakes up and I am frustrated and bottle up inside.

I know us moms all have these mental exhausting moments.  Here is how you can treat toddleritis:

Give yourself space. Go out without your kids or when husband gets home, go out and do something you love. Just make sure you have your space. When mom starts to yell then you know she needs a time out from her kids.  Mom's who don't give themselves time-out from kids are usually the ones who have toddleritis at its worse.

So if you are a mom and you know what I mean, give yourself a break from the toddler(s). You will find yourself refreshed and renewed and every mom needs that.

The Battle Of The 3's

I don't have much time to write as baby is about to wake up any second and Sunny will need my attention within the next 2 minutes, so this will be quick.  I am been having a lot of "why" moments lately regarding my 3 year old. I love her so much, but there are times I can't quite understand her.

When I was her age, I was so different.  According to the one who raised me, I took naps, I was obedient, I ate well and was not too picky, I was very quiet and shy.  So, I ask myself, if all things are inherited, why didn't Sunny inherit those traits.  I asked Rodney's mother what he was like. She gave me a few traits he had, and I think Sunny must take after him on some level, except Rodney took naps more often then not and he was a little more shy then Sunny. He was not a picky eater and I am not sure if he was obedient or not.....

Here is the thing, there are worse things in life and I am not here to complain, but rather describe where Sunny is in this season of her life so that years down the road, we will be able to look back and remember what frisky little 3 year old she was.

I am not sure if parents shape who their children become (operent conditioning I believe is what it's called) or if children are just born with their personalities.  I am leaning more towards they are born with their personalities.  When Sunny was born, I knew she wasn't going to be easy.  When Addi Olivia (We are starting to call her that since Sunny won't let go of her former name and we all got a little attached to it as well) was born, I felt she would be a bit more mellow and somewhat the same as Sunny. Only time will tell.

I am learning not to compare children. When I do that, I am so much harder on Sunny then I should be. Instead, I am learning to accept who she is and embrace her personality while instilling values and lessons I want her to learn and remember. So, here is my "Why" with my Sunny.

1. Why she won't take a single nap no matter how hard I try
2. Why she can't ever behave in Sacrament meeting
3. Why she can't use a toilet, but rather her mini potty that has to be cleaned out. Flushing a toilet would be so much more preferable. At least no more diapers unless in public (no use of toliet, remember).
4. Why she only will eat bread, cheese, muffins and chips and peanut butter and Jelly as her staples
5. Why she will not obey when asked to do something. Bribes don't work. She's getting better.
6. Why she wakes up so early and goes to bed so late, despite our efforts to tuck her in, read and sing to her.  Sleep would be the best present she could give me, but Sunny has had a sleep disorder since she was born and I am seriously thinking of putting her on medication for it.
7. Why she is stubborn

I have a list that can go on but I don't want this to be negativity outlet where I feel I am picking on her.  She has more positives about her then negatives and I want to focus on the positives more anyway.  I want Adelaide to look up to Sunny one day and teach her how to be a productive citizen one day as well as a leader who is kind and isn't afraid to be herself.

I tell myself I hope this is just a phase of the terrible 3's. I remind myself that each year will be different and as hard as these stay at home mom years are for me, it will go by fast an I will miss every little bit of it. It's just hard to think that way when days are stressful.

I love my kids so much and they are my life. I know I need to make improvements in myself and be better too. I know by strengthening my weaknesses, I can learn and grow at the same rate as Sunny. I know I am here to teach her, but I feel she is the one teaching me. She teaches me daily about patience, love, acceptance, forgiveness, and how to be more friendly. What a great example she is to me to follow in her footsteps,