Can I, Mom?

Our lunchtime conversation today...

Hyrum: Where is Jesus? 

Me: In heaven with Heavenly Father. 

Hyrum: Why? 

Me: Because that's where He lives. 

Hyrum: Can I go there? 

Me: When you die. 

Hyrum: I want to die. Can I, Mom? 

Me: Not yet! Wait until you get bigger. 

Hyrum: I am big! See, Mom?!

Oh I love my little man! And I love love being a mother. What a blessing to share these precious moments with these ever-learning spirits!

Wake up!

What do you  do in the middle of the night when your head starts bobbing and you can't stay awake? You apologize publicly for allowing the busy-ness of life to keep you from documenting it. 

I am working three nights a week. This week I'm working four in a row. I am off orientation-- a real nurse! There is still a lot I don't know. It can be really stressful. I love it most of the time, but sometimes I wish I could just quit and be a full time mom. I work the weekends, which means that yesterday I slept through most of church. It's awful, I know. I'm turning into my mother. ;)

Husband has not a minute I spare in his busy life. He works and works and watches the kids and helps me catch up on laundry and works and sleeps a bit if he is lucky.  He's been interviewing for jobs and is waiting for the right one to come along.

Hyrum is getting to be so big. He has lost all of his chub! He is still potty training, but improving in lots of ways. He loves to make ultimatums. "We are going to go to the park and to McDonald's and we are going to walk there. Ok mom?!" He cracks us up all the time. He loves his baby sister. 

Lindi is rolling all over the place. She started rice cereal this week. Where did our baby go? She is huge. Yesterday I was sleeping so I could come into work. She was fussy fussy for Dad. She was fed, changed, she didn't want to be happy for anything. I got up and gave her some loves and all fussies went away. She just wanted her Momma. It made me happy. 

Many of you know our house was broken into the day before Thanksgiving. They took both of our laptops, a safe with a gun and important documents, and our temple bags! The police were able to get fingerprints. Now we're just waiting for them to do something else stupid and get caught. In the meantime, we are installing a home security system. 

Life is good. We're trying to stay afloat. Maybe December will be a little kinder than November. 

Whining

To all the moms out there... We have hit the whining stage and I am going crazy. 

Tell me I will survive. Please.

Today everything that was happening was exactly what he didn't want. I would give him choices and he would create his own choice that was not a choice. Every. Single. Time. 

When we drive anywhere, he thinks he gets to decide which direction we go and he always wants to go the wrong way. It's pretty much awful. 

So, when I want to plug my ears and tell him to quit, I have to remember why I love him. Like how he flaps his ears and tells me he's a butterfly. That is awesome. Every. Single. Time. 

Everything All At Once

Life has been beyond busy for us...crazy...insane...

I'm a couple weeks into my night shifts. I love working nights and there is no doubt that it is the best fit for our family. I also know I don't get enough sleep during the day. And yet, I still am able to do all I need to do. I love being a nurse and a wifey and a momma. How lucky am I to do all three?!

Husband isn't much better off in the sleep department. He works during the day, takes care of the kids when I am gone, and stays up late doing his BYUI class. Every spare moment is filled to the brim with this, that, and the other. He is my superstar. I'm grateful for his love and support. 

Our kids are cuter than ever. They put up with a lot these days. Lots of time in the car running Mom and Dad to work, grumpy tired Momma, running around town house shopping, etc. P.S. My children are twins. It makes me happy. 

Speaking of house shopping...we found one. Our offer was accepted. If everything goes well, we will close at the end of the month. I am super excited. I'm going to love having a house of my own. It's been fun and such a blessing to be at my mom and dad's. I'm going to miss it in some ways, but it'll be good to be on our own again. 

We just keep swimming.  We're making it, barely. :)

First Day at Banner

It's after 9:00pm.  I have to be up at 5:00am to get my tired little booty out to Banner Thunderbird by 7:30.  I may as well drive to California.  And yet, I am determined to sit here and blog so that I can remember today.

I carpooled with my dad to get to my first day of orientation at Banner Good Sam.  It was a VERY rainy day.  Lucky for us, the windshield wipers on my dad's car might as well be water skis as well as they work...it was awful.  I arrived in plenty of time, though, and figured I would get a head start on my day by pumping (breastmilk, that is).  I am such a good mom.  Except that I am missing vital pieces of my pump.  Great...

Orientation is orientation, complete with complimentary orange juice, bagels and cream cheese, fruit, etc.

Meanwhile, back at home, Husband is trying to get my siblings ready and out the door for school while also wrangling Hyrum and Lindi.  He needs a shower, so he leaves our children in the care of my mother's children.  Lindi poop 'splodes.  Leslie and Sydney ditch out because they're going to be late for school.  Brooke (10) is left to clean up the 'splosion.  It gets on her pants.  She reports she threw up in her mouth.  She did an excellent job of cleaning Lindi.

Husband gets the kids to school and comes home to feed Miss Lindi before bringing me my pump pieces.  She fusses and fights.  I guess we're going to have to become acclimated to the bottle again.

The rain has made for terrible traffic, but Husband finally makes it to Good Sam so that I can pump.  I give my babies hugs and kisses.  I cry because Husband reports that Hyrum "wants to hold Mommy!"  My sweet little babies need their Momma not to be working all day!  Then, Husband makes it home just in time to discover that Hyrum has thoroughly peed his car seat.  Oh joy!  He scrambles to change Hyrum, strip the car seat, feed the three of them, get dressed and ready, and out the door to pass the kids to Grannie and get to his interview.  He makes it with one minute to spare.

Of course, once we're all home, it's time to make dinner, do dishes, catch up on laundry, iron uniforms (don't say it...who irons these days?), brush teeth, and watch the old school "Johnny Lingo" as the kids go to sleep.  Phew!  Tomorrow is a new day.  Just as busy, too!

Creative Mothering

Child number two ushers in a whole new phase of mothering. What's a mom to do when she finds herself with a poopy diaper and a diaper bag wipee thief?

Creative thinking, I tell ya!

Here's to Lindi! Alive, freshly diapered, and happy to boot!

Now to discover the wipee thief!

Jeri Lin Brown, RN

I accepted my first position as a Registered Nurse.

What?!

I will be working at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center.  I will float between the Cardiac PCU, Neuro PCU, and Outpatient Observation Unit.  I will work three nights a week.

I'm super duper excited and super duper want to cry and pee my pants and what am I thinking?!  I'm not sure I know how to be a full-time nurse and a full-time mother.  I can see myself evolving into my own mother.  Never sleeping, constantly going.  Somehow I will have to figure out how to learn and grow and enjoy working while still loving and holding and squeezing my sweet babies and Husband too.

Blessing Day for Lindi Beth

What a beautiful little family!

And what a special day to share with grandparents and great-grandparents!

I was so grateful to have my daughter surrounded by her father, her Pops, her Grandpa, and her Papa!

Three generations of faithful Priesthood holders!

A beautiful day for a beautiful girl!

After Lindi's blessing, as I held her and had my boys on either side of me, I was overwhelmed with a love for my little girl and for my family.  I felt as if my heart would burst!  I am so grateful for Priesthood keys that allow us to be sealed for eternity!

A Visit from the Browns

Grandma and Grandpa Brown came to visit for the week.  They rented a house nearby and we enjoyed having lots of space, a pool, and (of course) GRANDPARENTS!

We spent a few afternoons in the pool.  Even Missy Lind joined us once.  She's to-die-for-cute in her little swimmer suit.

 Another family photo...we're on a roll.

Aside from swimming, we enjoyed playing board games, eating yummy food, touring model homes, and just being together.  On Saturday night we went to Benihana's. It was a little bit of a fiasco.  We should have known better than to wait for over an hour with two little kids.  Then, we finally got seated and Hyrum fell over in the high chair and cracked his head.  As awful as that was, he recovered fairly quickly and enjoyed the rest of the evening.  He loved watching the chef cook our food right there in front of us and he love love loved the chicken fried rice.  I'm still glad we went and I'm glad it's a night we will never forget, even if it is at the expense of Hyrum's head.

We sure do love Grandma and Grandpa Brown.  They always spoil us.  Hyrum loves playing with them.  Grandma is so good about entertaining Hyrum.  She took him to the park multiple times, even though most people (like me) would never go out in the heat for that.  We were sad to see them go and hope we can see them again lickety split.

The Coolest Thing Since Otter Pops

I read somewhere online that, for Arizona kids, splash pads are the coolest things since otter pops.  True story, I say!

Hyrum and I did a lot of splash padding earlier in the summer before Lindi arrived.  We were so excited to find out that there's one not too far from our new place.  It's a great getaway in the late afternoon/early evening when you need something fun to do.  Plus, Hyrum has enjoyed having aunts and an uncle to join in on all the fun.

 P.S. Don't you just love Husband's farmer's tan?  It could win a competition.

Sad story...this is the first picture of all four of us. Yes.  Lindi is almost two months old.  Major mom fail.

 I think we"ll take Grandma and Grandpa to check it out this afternoon!

Loving Two

Hi, my name is Jeri Lin and I love my children.

Potty Training: What Motherhood is All About

We are day two of official potty training. Amidst moving and having a new baby, you could argue that right now is a terrible time to potty train, but Hyrum was ready. So what do you do? You take him to the store to pick out his big boy underwear and let the fun begin. 

I know I may sing a different tune three days from now, but I've really enjoyed this stage of life because of the mothering moments it has provided me. 

1. Sitting on the bathroom floor holding Lindi and singing homemade "You can do it!" potty songs while Hyrum sits on the potty. 

2.  Sighing in relief when an accident happens on the tile as opposed to the carpet or couch. 

3.  Hyrum's giggle when he successfully pees in the potty. 

4.  Throwing him in the bath because all three pairs if training pants are wet and need a quick hand wash. 

5.  Having a little brother who is a perfect example of "embracing the underwear."

6.  Calling Dad to report that he peed in the potty. 

The point is, if you can be patient and see potty training as a series of mothering moments, instead of perpetual accidents, it may become a phase of life that, someday, you will miss. 

For Your Viewing Pleasure

My sister caught this lovely snippit of Hyrum this weekend.  I'm in love.

The New Normal

At one point in the last couple of weeks, I asked Husband how long we had to be in survival mode before the new normal kicked in.  His wise response was that I would probably wake up one morning and realize we'd been in the new normal for a while.  I remember thinking, "Oh please! Don't let today be the new normal."

Before Lindi arrived people would talk about the transition Hyrum would have to make, but no one really talked about the transition I would have to make. I figured, "We've done this before! It'll be a piece of cake this time." It is not a piece of cake. 

It is hard. 

But, now that we're nearing one month, I think we can say that we've entered the new normal. (If anything can be normal as we pack up and move...) The new normal doesn't make any of it much easier, but now we know what to expect and things have become manageable instead of out of control. There are still moments when things get a little hectic. Three poopy diapers back to back to back amidst a lot of angry crying can be a little wild, but hey! I'll take three poopy diapers over a poop 'splosion. 

Besides, being the mother of two beautiful, funny children is totally worth it. Hyrum cracks me up nearly every day and I can't believe how smart he is. And every time I look at Lindi I can't help but wonder how we got lucky enough to have two blue-eyed children.  

Motherhood is the best!

Welcome Lindi Beth Brown

This post is an obligatory picture overload post.  But how can you post about the birth of your second child without having too many pictures?  It doesn't help that we had a camera, three iPhones, and two Galaxy S3s to capture her first day here... It is also a little overdue, but I am just now finding some semblance of order in my life.

On June 15th I was two days overdue.  This little baby was never going to come.  Then, sometime that morning I thought maybe, just maybe, I was starting to have contractions.  Nothing regular, nothing strong enough, but maybe...

It came time for Husband to head to work.  He asked me if he should go or stay.  I wouldn't give him an answer.  I wanted him to stay because my deepest darkest fear was sending him to work, going into labor, and not making it to the hospital in time.  At the same time, he had limited leave from work and I didn't want to waste 8 hours of leave on some "maybe" contractions.  Since I wouldn't decide, he did.  He was staying home from work.  I was a little upset.  But, we decided to make the most of his "day off."  We dropped Hyrum off at Grannie and Pops' house and went out to tour model homes at Eastmark.  Needless to say, Hyrum had a good time.

As we toured the houses, my "maybe" contractions turned into real contractions.  They became stronger and more regular.  We pulled out the handy dandy iPhone app and started timing them around 2:30pm.  We kept touring houses...stopping to breathe through contractions as needed.  Finally we decided to look at two more homes.  The saleslady asked when the baby was due.  Two days ago.  She was very excited when we informed her on the way out that we were headed to the hospital.

We made one last stop at Grannie and Pops' to say bye to Hyrum, feed Tony, and get laughed at by my sisters when I got hit with a long and hard contraction.  On the ramp from the Loop 202 to the 60, I decided I was getting an epidural.  We took the classic "We're finally here!" photos even though I was absolutely miserable.

The triage nurses were working fast.  I was dilated 5 1/2cm, 90% effaced.  I think they knew as well as I did that my 9 hour labor with my first child meant this one was coming quick.  My epidural was waiting in the labor and delivery room.  As soon as it was in, I was feeling lots of pressure.  Sure enough, my water hadn't broke, but I was 10cm, 100% effaced.  The doctor, Dr. Kudlinski was on call, was twenty minutes away. When the nurse called to update her she asked, "Is this the same patient you just called me about?"

Baby waited for the doctor, but four or five pushes later we had a baby girl!

Lindi Beth Brown was born at 5:16pm. 8 lb 15 oz!  19 3/4 inches long. Holy smoke!  We had a baby girl!4

Hyrum adores Lindi.  He kept saying "Baby!"  When she cried, he proudly announced that she needed a diaper change...

We're so grateful for our healthy, happy baby girl.  We are now a family of four!  I like that Husband refers to Lindi and I as "the girls" and I can refer to him and Hyrum as "the boys."  Life is good.  More to come...eventually.