Motherhood is . . .

Motherhood is a noble birthright, an honor, a privilege, a joy and a blessing. I know all of this is true about being a Mom. As a young Mom I'm afraid I don't always have these views of motherhood in my front most thoughts. Right now I feel motherhood is being a human jungle gym, personal cook, constantly cleaning, lecturing, hugging, laughing, crying, stressed, giving loves, looking disheveled with spit up or boogies on me, teaching, playing or reading the same thing over and over, etc. etc. It doesn't happen often when I actually sit back and think about the noble work I'm doing. I mostly ponder on my blunders and what I should do better for my family.

Knowing mother's day is coming I have recently put how I am as a mother and how I want to be as a mother under review. I want to have more happiness in my home. Some days as a mother bring a lot of stress, I admit I'm no treat to be around on those days and I know my attitude can be reflected upon the rest of my family. I want to rely more on my Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ. It is by their example and having faith and hope that I can be more successful as a mom. I only have to look to my Savior Jesus Christ and follow his example of having faith, virtue, knowledge, patience, kindness, charity, humility, diligence, etc.  I know being a parent is never going to be easy and having more happiness and Christ like attributes in my home is not going to happen overnight, but I will try. My kids deserve the world; they are my pride and my joy. I truly love them so very very much.  While it's not always in my thoughts I do truly appreciate the privilege, blessing, joy, honor, etc. that is being a mom.
 

There are times when I think about raising kids in these later days and I get overwhelmed. My children will face so much more than I ever had to and it is my and Casey's job to make sure they are raised well and set to live in this crazy mixed up world. I am truly grateful for my upbringing. I have such wonderful parents who raised me well, as does Casey. Our parents have done and still do so much for us. I only hope to live up to the wonderful example they have set for us.
I love you Mom, and Mom D. You are both wonderful mother's who I look up to and am so thankful to have you in my life.  HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! 

Challis

Casey has 12 school days left in his school year. He is ready for the summer break.  As of now it looks like we'll be staying in Challis another year. We've looked at our options and feel it's probably a good decision to stay here another year. Casey gets to add AP classes to his schedule (so he'll have 9th world history, and AP for sure), the rest is up in the air again. He may do finance, and current events, or they might shove something else onto his plate. He is kind of nervous about teaching AP, it's a bigger deal because it's like shoving two college classes into one high school class. I know it will add some stress, but he'll do well and enjoy it. Casey is also looking forward to coaching again. He'll have a few tournaments this summer with the team that he gets to help with.
To but it bluntly I am less than thrilled to be staying here in Challis. Living in Challis this past year has had it's challenges, but I'm trying to get over some issues I have with living here and want to go into this next school year with more optimism. As much as I complain I really am thankful to be staying here in Challis. I understand what another year here will do for Casey and his career, and that overrides my dislike of Challis.
We are really looking forward to this summer. Casey gets a much deserved break from teaching, we get more time outside, and best of all we get to see family. : D

10 months

Wow Peter is already 10 months old. In two short months we'll have a one year old on our hands. Peter is still crawling around and loves to pull up to and walk along furniture. He will stand for a few seconds on his own but won't take steps on his own yet. He's also picked up on how fascinating kitchen cupboards and their contents can be. Peter constantly has something in his mouth. As always he loves tho eat, and when he's not eating everything he sees on the floor he is chomping down on toys or other random things he can get his hands on. He's also getting mischievous and pulls out the cords to everything on the TV cabinet. : / Pete likes to blow raspberries. It's so cute because he likes to make those sounds as he's playing with cars or other objects. All boy : ) Kendal still likes to smother her brother, but lately it's with less love and more let me take what your playing with away from you cause I have to have it too. Luckily Peter puts up with her for now. We keep telling her that the older he gets he'll get bigger and learn to treat her like she treats him. It sinks in for a minute then a while later she's stealing another toy. I'm still waiting for spring to fully arrive so I can get some more sunshine and outings with the kids.

I can fly high in the sky!

We are never in short supply of wind living in Idaho. We took advantage of the wind this week and took Kendal's new kite out.  The first day we went out we had the kite up and flying for quite a while. The second time we went out this week we weren't so lucky. Even if the kite gets little flight time Kendal has fun and enjoys herself.  If my yard wasn't plastered with deer scat I might have enjoyed the experience a bit more this week. It's starting to get to me that we always have to watch our step for scat, and I can't even let Pete down in the yard to enjoy himself. The schools grass / fields and park are also plastered with it, so there is no escaping it anywhere around here. Big sigh
Sorry for the rant, anyways -  I have fond memories of flying kites as a child. I can still remember windy days at my Grandparents home in Wellsville that were spent flying kites. Good times : ) Casey has always liked flying kites. We've been through a few kites throughout our marriage (one that was stuck in a tree in my parents yard for a couple of years). I know flying kites will always be a good family activity that we all enjoy.

 

Sometimes it takes a bit for Kendal to get to sleep. We hear her in her room talking to her animals / dolls, reading books, or playing around. We always check on the kids before we head off to bed; put Pete's pacifiers back in his crib, and put a blanket on Kendal. The other night we walked in to find a first. Kendal had fallen asleep on the floor while she was playing. Casey and i both laughed. Love these funny little moments.

Easter Break

Originally our Easter Break was just going to be a few days in Logan, but with the purchase of a second car, my nephew visiting, some desired family time, and my Mom's b-day during the week; the kids and I stayed a few extra days.  On our way to Logan we stopped off in Pocatello and got to eat lunch and spend time with Casey's parents, Jaxson, Hunter, and Nicole. Living so far from family has limited our time this year with the Darrington clan. It was good to see them, and I hope we can see more of the family in the coming months.
When we arrived in Logan Kendal got to go on a treasure hunt. A couple years back my parents gave my nephew a tricycle, and this year they bought Kendal a scooter that she got to go on a treasure hunt for. Kendal has been anticipating getting her scooter for quite a while now, and was so happy to get it.

On Friday we took Peter to his 9 month Dr. appointment. At 9 months Peter is 17 pounds (5th %), and 27 1/4 in. tall (25%). Even though Pete weighs as much as Kendal did at one year the doctor feels that he is underweight and recommends that we up his calories. I will also be adding formula since he's not getting enough when he nurses from me. It took time for Pete to warm up to family over our break. He's had a lot of Mommy time, and new people wanting to hold and love him was sometimes a challenge.
Casey and I have needed a second car for a long while now. Challis obviously doesn't offer any help so we've had to look online, and send my parents around Logan to car shop for us. On Friday we found our new family car. It's a small SUV with ample room for our family. We are very happy with our purchase and I'm glad to have a little more freedom at home.

On Saturday we found some Easter hunts for the kids to join. We met up with my cousin Billie and her cute brood and went to Elkridge Park in N. Logan. We made it with a couple minutes to spare. It seemed like the candy was gone in less than a minute. Kendal didn't pick up much (thankfully she doesn't mind, she was happy with the candy she got). After that we picked up my nephew Campbell and headed to Lee's grocery for a hunt. The kids got a great haul there - light up ring, toothbrush, bag of carrots, string cheese, cookie, little milk, chips. Billie and i looked at each other and said this was lunch. So we stopped by the deli and got a sandwich to complete the meal. Saturday evening we met up with family at Andy's house for a BBQ. Later we dyed eggs with Kendal (we undercooked the eggs so they weren't worth eating, but looked good anyway)

 Sunday morning I put together an egg hunt for Kendal and Campbell. They found their baskets and had fun that morning playing and eating sweets. We went to church, and came back and enjoyed a nice family dinner.

Casey returned to Challis Monday so he could get back to school. During the week we went to a castle playground in Logan, went bowling (Anica wiped the floor with us, and my Dad thinks how people bowl these days is weird.), did fun experiments, Kendal got in a lot of swinging time, and most of all we got to see family.

Thursday was my Mom's birthday. While she got a haircut and went to lunch with my Dad Katherine, Andy, Billie, and I took the kids to baby animal days at the American Heritage Farm. We got to go on a horse carriage ride, a train ride, see the baby animals, and a do a few more things. Kendal got to hold a duck and chick. She squeezed the duck a bit too much, but loved holding them and petting the other animals. Thursday night my family took my mom out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Kendal had been acting a bit sick for a day or so; at dinner she ended up throwing up all over herself and me. : / We left right away, and the family joined us for cake soon afterwards.

On Friday the kids and I made the trek home. We stopped off for a mini break at my Great Uncle Arnolds and Aunt Margarets home in Blackfoot. We had so much fun in Logan with family and they were so wonderful for helping me with the kids during the week. We are glad to be back home with Casey again, have our beds back, and enjoy some conference this weekend with a visit from Casey's parents! 

Peter is 9 months / Kendal's doings

At nine months old Peter is getting bigger and looking more and more like his dad. This past month Peter has learned to crawl, climb up and stand at things, and after what seems like forever he finally cut his first tooth last week. We are now officially at beginning of a long road of teething. Pete is doing great at picking up food and eating. He uses his left hand predominantly when he eats, and when he does pick up food with his right transfers it to his left to eat. Pete seems to be weaning himself. It makes me nervous because I worry about nutrition and needs his first year (we'll see what the pedi. says next week).  Pete loves to babble, and it's sweet listening to him sometimes go off on a babble rant. He often sticks his toung out the side of his mouth - silly, but cute. Now that Peter is mobile his curiosity has blossomed. If he can open it, reach it, or find it, he will. He has learned to pry open the bathroom door and crawl in, not fun when I'm trying to shower. Unfortunately our wood stove and propane heater are very prominent and available for Pete to discover and potentially get hurt, so I've had to keep my eye on him all day, and remove him from the areas before he hurts himself. He's adventurous and loves to explore; we'd better keep up with this active little guy. : )

I feel like i post a lot of little things Kendal does in the side bar. I keep a record of what I write and plan on making a post out of them at the end of the year when I make a copy of the blog. I hope I'm able to keep track of what Peter does at this age too like I have Kendal. Kendal definitely fills the role of big sister. She wants to know what's going on at all times, and likes to be in the middle of things. If it involves Pete she's there. She has recently become a human obstacle course for Pete. She finds it amusing to get in his way so he has to crawl over or around her. She also likes to shove chairs and toys around him to watch him climb and play. Helpful in her mind, kind of a nuisance in ours.  She loves to help in the kitchen. Casey and i harbor a lot of patience when she joins us in the kitchen because she constantly grabs things, licks things, asks questions, and wants to be in the middle of the prep zone. Since Pete hasn't had teeth till now Kendal has asked where they come from. We've been explaining to her how we have teeth in our mouths and they come out when we're babies like Pete is; and she'll start to loose teeth in the next few years and new ones will grow in. Kendal said she doesn't want to loose her teeth. We've had to reassure her it'll be fine when the time comes.
(Small medical update on Kendal) She has developed a lump on her eyelid over the past couple of months. Casey and i assumed she hit it, and the lump hasn't bothered her, so we decided to just keep an eye on it to make sure it didn't get worse. We'll when weeks rolled into months and the lump is still there we decided to get it checked out. We took her to the local clinic and Doctor Jannet (sweet lady in our ward) looked at Kendal. Kendal's lump is called Blepheritis. The doctor figures Kendal either hit it or got something in her eye that caused an infection to form on the inside of the eyelid. She assured us we have nothing to worry about and it will go away with time. We only need worry if if opens and leaks into her eye, or get's bigger. But for now it's fine.
Sad but true we haven't been to the local library until just last week. Why haven't we gone to the library before? Well my home is already littered with a plethora of children's books. I love them and we have a lot; plus the library hours are limited and as I've said before our outings have been limited. (I know that's no excuse a library is a wonderful place).  The library in Challis has two small rooms. One room has children - adolescent books; the other holds adult books and a few computers. We spent almost an hour reading books on a mini couch. Kendal loved it (and surprisingly Peter behaved the whole time). Casey took her back the next morning for a kid activity hour that the librarian invited us to. (We think she thought Kendal was older because the program was for preschool age kids, but who cares) Kendal got to listen to stories; and just as she is in primary she was out of her seat a lot looking at the book and asking questions. After they made an Easter craft and had snacks. Kendal loves any time she gets with other kids and books so it was an awesome morning for Her!
 Now that Kendal is three and can sit and listen for at least five minutes we've been having family home evenings. Our topics range from scripture stories, gospel topics, primary topics, etc. Kendal likes family home evening and looks forward to it each week. Our most recent lesson was about seasons, Kendal made pictures that are on the fridge and she likes to look at the pictures and talk about what goes on each season. I love it when Kendal remembers things she learns from church, songs, and lessons at home. She's super smart, and doing well at reading simple words. Love this little Lady.

Bring on the warm weather!

There is a glimmer of spring in the air!! We haven't had much snow on the ground for a while now, and any major storm that has hit east Idaho this past month didn't make it up to Challis. So, we're seeing a lot of grass (dead grass covered in deer scat, but grass none the less). It's also been a bit warmer this past week which is so nice. We ventured out to the local park last Friday. Kendal was over the moon! We don't get out much; between Casey having the car for work / coaching, and freezing winter temperatures we've been stuck at home a lot this winter. Kendal wanted to run around and do everything. She was also so proud of herself because she's learned how to pump on the swing. We weren't there long before another family pulled up to play. Funny enough Kendal's little football buddy Cassy was among the kids. We haven't seen them since the last home football game, but it didn't matter. The girls spent the next little while following each other around and having a ball. We think Peter liked the park. I say think because this dude doesn't always express himself. Going down the slide - no reaction, swinging - no reaction (unless Casey prodded him for one).
Hopefully the warm weather continues for us to get out some more this spring : D

 I thought i would venture down memory lane and try out kinky hair on Kendal. My arthritic hands paid the price for a couple of days but it was sweet to see Kendal all cute and fluffy (just like i remembered). 

Peter is loving to explore. He loves to pull himself up on things lately. We've had to lower his crib mattress twice in the past few weeks because he's learned to get to a sitting position by himself, and now can stand at his crib. Also he has finally started to crawl on all fours the last couple of days. He's loving his new found independence.