Easter Eggs

Hyrum and I dyed Easter eggs this week.  He thought it was so much fun!  It was a fun little activity.

As much fun as Easter eggs and baskets and candy are, we've been trying to focus on Christ this week.  Each day Hyrum gets to chose a puzzle piece from a picture that depicts the apostles finding the empty tomb.  Each piece has an activity to go along with it.  We've also been reading about the Savior's last week from the scriptures each day.  We've enjoyed watching depictions of Christ and his life from Bible Videos.  Tonight we are going to watch the Easter Pageant.  It's your last chance to see it this year!  You should go!

We are so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He died for us!  He lives!  Because of Him, we can be made perfect and we can live again!

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park

Spring Break was real exciting around our house considering that Husband had to work all week.  I did lots of Family History and  played with my boy.  Hyrum and I also went to the Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center with Grannie and the kiddos, which was a lot of fun.

The highlight of the week, though, was having Dad home.  We splurged and made a day out of it.  We went to the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale.  For $10 we got to play at the park, ride two different trains around the park, ride the carousel, see the railroad museum, and check out the model train exhibit.  

Hyrum was beside himself with excitement with the model trains.  He could hardly stand it!  We also took a little picnic lunch and enjoyed a nice summer day (Yes, summer is here!) at the park.  We also stopped at McDonalds for ice cream on the way home.  They were having a car show.  Husband enjoyed looking at some fancy cars.

Survivor Mud Run

Pops and Husband did the Survivor Mud Run on Saturday.  It was ridiculous.  I don't think anyone was expecting as much mud as their was.  The pouring rain all day Friday definitely made it an event to remember.  

When we got there, we dropped the boys off and the girls (Keila and Sydney) and I went to park.  We were slippin' and slidin' and spinning tires and the big trucks in front of us were getting stuck.  I didn't like the stress of it.  Keila was laughing, saying, "I should have drove!  This is fun!"

Before

This is Pops in the first mud bog (2nd obstacle).  This is where Husband's shoes got sucked off and he decided to ditch them.  He did the rest of the race barefoot.

There was mud everywhere, even along the track where we were following along.  Keila and Sydney ditched their shoes too.  I'm just glad I didn't wear my new tennies.

The monkey bars were Pops' best event.  :)

What I didn't capture very well in the pictures were the never ending hills.  This race was on a dirt bike track so it was up and down and up and down.  The downs were all filled with mud and water from the rain.  Pops  almost made it to the top of one hill just to slide all the way down.  Bummer!  Needless to say, this race was a toughie!  We all agreed it was much harder (and longer) than the Devil Dash they did with Bryton last year.

Everyone had a good time.  The guys tried to rinse off in the showers afterwards, to no avail.  I was grateful we had taken the truck and not my car.  One of these days (when I'm not pregnant) I'll have to join these guys in a race!

New Schedules and Tuna Sandwhiches

I think it's a little ridiculous how many schedules Husband has gone through in less than a year of working at the TSA.  Between the routine shift bids, upgrades to full-time, etc., we've had our fair share of changes.  Today we found out that starting in April, he will work 12:00pm-8:30pm, Wednesday through Sunday.  Ugh.  While in some ways it's better than what he has now, it's also not the best we could have hoped for.  I'm trying to be positive about it.  At least he'll be home by nine every night and we can go to bed at the same time.  That will be refreshing.

On top of that schedule change, I have to try to squeeze in 9 twelve hour shifts at AZ Heart Hospital between March 18th and April 17th.  So how do I make my preceptor's schedule match Husband's schedule, and if not his, match Grannie's?  It's impossible.  The fact that I need to find someone willing to watch Hyrum for 7+ hours three or four times makes me want to cry.  I hate asking people for huge favors like that.  And poor Hyrum.  I feel bad.  Somehow, we've made things work so that he's only spent a few hours at a time on rare occasions with someone besides Mom, Dad, or Grannie.  I know.   He'll be fine.  It won't give him brain damage, but I've so enjoyed being his full-time mother the past couple of weeks...

Of course, the worry in the back of my mind is, "And we think I'm going to start working full-time in December (or thereabouts) when I have two kids to leave at home (or with someone else) and I'm the new hire who has to work all sorts of crazy schedules?"  Right...because that's going to go over smoothly.  What am I thinking?

In happier news, Hyrum talks more than I would have ever thought a little kid could.  He can articulate almost anything he wants to say.  He tries to say everything I do.  I've learned that I have a few expressions I must use often, because he does too.  "Oh mean!" (AKA "Oh man!") and "Super!"  This morning he helped me make waffles and banana bread.  He did an excellent job of dumping my measuring cups into the bowl.  Then, when I was pouring batter into loaf pans he says, "Mom! Helper!"  Reminding me that he is my helper and I can't do it on my own.  

As for tuna sandwiches.  My pregnant self is insatiable.  I always want to be eating.  My latest favorite is tuna sandwiches.  Really.  Homemade bread and tuna with mayo and mustard and relish.  Delicious.  Never thought I would say that.  I had it for dinner last night.  I planned for Hyrum to have it for dinner too, but he visibly shuddered when he tried it.  I've been there before, buddy.

Faux Pas Follow-up

I thought I would post a follow-up to the wrestling match from yesterday.  

After blogging my frustrations, I prayed that I could forgive my little guy (and myself) so that we could enjoy the rest of our day.  We pulled out The Friend, the monthly children's magazine put out by our church.  We read stories and looked at pictures and I think we both got to feeling a lot better.  Hyrum also helped me do laundry and take out the recycle.  

Then we went out back and pulled weeds.  For two hours...

Hyrum mostly played, but every now and again he would come over, pull out a weed or two and then go on his merry way.  Together we stuffed four grocery bags full of weeds.  If you looked at my backyard you might say, "Really?   You pulled weeds?"  But you have to look at the part of the yard where we pulled weeds.  It looks great!  Even if it is only 10% of the yard...We have a lot of work to do.  Maybe that's where you'll find us this morning while Husband is off doing a service project with the Young Men.  

Anyhow.  We pulled weeds until the sun went down and then we came inside and made ice cream (green smoothies) for dinner, bathed, and went to bed.  And wouldn't you imagine that he went to bed on his cute little big boy bed without a trouble.  He was out by 7:35 and I worked on my paper till my eyes wanted to pop out and my brain wanted to quit school.

It was a good day.

Mothering Faux Pas

Faux pas is a French phrase meaning " false step."  Synonyms include "blunder," "boo-boo," "indiscretion," or "mistake."

We built Hyrum's big boy bed today.  I've been aching to for a week, but we finally gathered the right tools today.  Don't ask me why I have wanted to so badly.  Maybe it's because he just seems so big to me.  Maybe it's because I want him to be used to it by the time Baby comes.  I don't know...

So we built the bed and we packed away the crib.  Faux pas.

I really needed Hyrum to take a nap today.  Badly.  I have a paper to write and it's not going to happen without some Mom-and-her-computer quiet time.  Needless to say, nap time didn't happen today.  We had an hour and a half long wrestling match, though!  :)

His two favorite words became "Nope" and "Done."  He wiggled and he wriggled and he flipped.  He grunted and he giggled and he cried.  We read stories and sang songs and rocked in the rocking chair.

At one point I told him he needed to sleep and demonstrated by closing my eyes and pretending to snore.  So he closed his eyes and pretended to snore.  It didn't make him any sleepier.

Husband said he'll build the crib again tomorrow.  Call me stubborn, but he's going to sleep in this big boy bed whether he likes I like it or not.

And yes, I needed to blog about it right now, because now maybe I can forgive him and the rest of our day can be happy and joyful.