A Rock and a Hard Place

I know I'm supposed to be studying for Pharm, but I can't do that effectively until I get this off my chest.

I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. The rock is nursing school. The hard place is being a wife and a mother. [Or vice versa, it doesn't matter.] I have too much on my plate. No matter what I do, I seem to fall short somewhere, but if I jump to catch one spinning plate from falling, I seem to knock the other one off balance on my way over.

I can't not work hard at school. This isn't like high school, where all you do is show up and you get to be valedictorian. I'm working my butt off and I feel like I'm just barely hanging on. Puting forth less time and effort would mean giving up scholarships or even not passing Junior 1. I told my mother-in-law the other day that is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. "Harder than having a baby?" she retorted. Yes. I'll have lots more babies, but I won't ever do nursing school again.

So whilst I spin the school plate, what plate is tottering? Family. I feel like a terrible mother. I say that and everyone says, WHATEVER. Well guess what?! I get frustrated with Little Boy when I need to study but he wants to play. Then, I get frustrated with myself for being frustrated with him. It's not his fault. Then, when he's tired beyond belief but he doesn't want to go to sleep and he's fighting me and he pulls my hair and pinches my face, I raise my voice and tell him to quit. And then I cry because I shouldn't yell.

And then he finally falls asleep and I should do my studying for Pharm...that's why I was so frustrated that he wouldn't go to sleep, but instead I just pick up my spinning plates, throw them out the window and blog.

Time to glue the pieces back together and start spinning again.

What We Believe: Children of God

We are children of our Heavenly Father who loves us and we love Him.  He sent us here to earth to live in families.  He sent us here to learn and grow.  He sent us here to gain physical bodies.  We will return to live with Him again someday.



Your Heavenly Father loves you and is aware of you! 

Girlyfriends

My dad has a set of season tickets to ASU football this year.  [I guess that's what happens when he works for ASU and gets a wicked good deal.]  He's taken his girlyfriend #4 (Mom is #1, I'm #2...and so on) and he's taken Bryton multiple times.  Well, last Saturday, the boys had Priesthood so Girlyfriend #3 and I got to go to the game.

 

We ate at Subway before the game, rode the lightrail, and then watched ASU try to lose the game.  I enjoyed the fireworks and the marching band and was grateful Keila was there to explain things to me.  I know the basics of football but she's a team manager for the Jaguars, so she really knows her stuff.

I'm grateful for this little sister of mine.  We weren't always the best of friends, but now that we've both grown up a little bit, we have a lot of fun together.  I can hardly believe she'll be 16 in a couple months!  Speaking of which, she got asked to Homecoming this week.  I remember being in that same predicament...asked on your first date, not quite 16.  I got asked to go to a play by one of my best friends.  It would have been fun.  I said no and I'm all the better for it, not that going out on my first date a few weeks before I turned 16 would have turned me into a rebel.  I still would have gotten married in the temple.  I wouldn't have become a pregnant teenager (oh wait...).  The principle, however, is that when you obey the prophet you will be blessed.  I was blessed.  She will be too.

Rubber Ducky, You're the One!

Rubber Ducky you’re so fine,

And I’m lucky that you’re mine.

Rubber Ducky, I’d love a whole pond of,

Rubber Ducky, I’m awfully fond of you!

This is Hyrum's unique little rubber duckie.  He is a duck but he is also a lion.  Uncle Hayden got it from the city library's summer reading program and thought Hyrum would like it.  He was wrong.   He LOVES it.  

 This is Hyrum eyeing the duck.

 This is Hyrum plowing his face into the ground as he eats the duck.

The funniest part is that he doesn't just eat the duck, he eats it ferociously.  He growls as he shoves it into his mouth.

Rubber Ducky you're my very best friend, it's true!

Sweet Potato Pie

Hyrum has slept through the night since he was 6 or 8 weeks old, so it was a little weird when he started waking up at midnight or 1am every night.  He would fuss and fight until I fed him and then he'd go back to sleep, snap! , just like that.  He was hungry! 

So, his eat every four hours, sleep for eight every night schedule has been thrown out the window.  He's usually hungry every 3-3 1/2 hours nowadays and we've found a solution to the wake up at midnight problem.  Sweet potatoes!

 

We mix it with rice cereal, which he's been doing for a few weeks and he likes it...pretty much, anyway.  He had it for breakfast lunch and dinner today.  And lucky us, he's sleeping through the night!  Hooray!  Problem solved.

Now, the experts say not to start babies on solids until they're at least 6 months, but experts also say not to starve your child.  He fits all the other "Your baby is ready if..." statements so we're going for it.

Next on the menu?  Green beans.

Like Oppossums to Peanut Butter

Hyrum and I were practicing our sitting-up skills today.  He took a few dives...

But over all, I was surprised at how well he did.  We hadn't really ever tried before and he took to it like opossums to peanut butter. (Seriously, my in-laws have caught 7 opossums in their yard in the last little while...with peanut butter.  Only in Texas...)

Another new development is how much he enjoys the camera.  All of a sudden it's fun to smile when the camera comes out...  This is why I love being a mother.  BIG HUGE GRINS

Later, when Daddy came home, we wanted to show him his new trick.  He sat like this by himself for at least a full minute.  Won't be long until we're calling Little Boy, Big Boy.

We love our Hyrum Joseph Boy.

Monday Musings

Whilst Little Boy sleeps, I shall blog. My brain needs a break from school and I don't want to fold laundry yet and my better judgement is telling me to wait until I cut Husband's hair before I clean the bathroom.

I'm excited for fall. Fall as in autumn. I'm excited for it to be dark when I leave for school. I'm excited to wear hoodies that have become dusty in the closet. I am excited to be able to move the comforter off the cedar chest and back onto the bed. I remember the days when I could snuggle next to Husband at night without sweating. I liked those days.

Hyrum hasn't been feeling well the last few days. He's not his normal happy self. It makes me sad. He doesn't sleep well. I hope he feels better soon.

I got a 90% on my exam this morning. Not too shabby. Too bad in the nursing program at 90% is a B. They expect a lot from us and it's good they do. What would you say if you knew your nurse made it through nursing school with a 1.0 GPA?

We enjoyed conference weekend. Tony's favorite talk was by Matthew O. Richardson. I really enjoyed Carl B. Cook. Did you know that there is a prophet on the earth today, just like Moses or Abraham? There is! I am so grateful for his constant guidance.

I think this week is going to be ok. If you had asked me that yesterday I might have cried, but I think I scared myself into extreme studying. I feel like I might do just fine, if Hyrum will let me put him down for even a few minutes, that is. Happily, though, Tony only works at Home Depot today and Friday this week. That's doable.