A Day in the Life-2015 Edition

This is my third year of doing "A Day in the Life" segment, and I think it's really fun to look back and see how things change. So, here is Pi Day 2015.....

9:00 a.m.- Gavin starts calling for, "Mommy!' I'm so grateful he slept in, as we got back from Disneyland last night around 11 p.m. I know, parents of the year, amirite?
9:02 a.m.- I give Gavin a sippy cup of warm milk (35 seconds to bliss :))
9:05 a.m.- I jump into the shower so we can get ready to meet some friends at the Science Discovery Center. Gavin is lured in by shaving cream and he gets washed, too.
9:15 a.m.- Rubes is hungry. I feed and snuggle her in the bed.
9:16-9:49 a.m.- Mad rush to get everyone clean, dressed, and ready.
9:50 a.m.- Kids are in the car, snack/activity/diaper bag is packed, and we're off to the Center!
9:52 a.m.- And Justin forgot his I.D. Headed back home.
9:55 a.m.- Back on the road again......
9:56 a.m.- Justin tells me we can listen to any type of music I want. I warn him it'll be country. G begs for "Call Me Maybe" (He calls it 'Baby'). Bring on Brad, Dierks, and Josh!
10:06 a.m.- Traffic. Lame. Country playlist gets turned up.
10:30 a.m.- We finally make it!
10:37 a.m.- We're at the door. Justin forgot to bring his I.D. from the car. They let us in anyways. Phew.
10:45 a.m.- We run into Justin's co worker and his family. Then, we see our friends, the Fultons, who we had planned to meet up with. We start chatting with them and we lose Gavin. Whoops!
10:47 a.m.- I find him by a ping pong spiral table (I have no idea what to call it....a sciency table thingamabob?). Phew!
10:49 a.m.- I convince him to stay with his friend, Alice. That lasts all of 40 seconds before they're both running in opposite directions.
10:50- 11:10 a.m.- Having fun exploring, climbing on, and touching everything.
11:25 a.m.- I ask an employee if there's a nursing room. I wish I could replicate the face he made. Hilarious......
11:30 a.m.- We mosey on over to the Taco Bell so I can nurse and we can eat.
11:33 a.m.- Justin brings me a Crunchwrap. I say I'll eat a bite or two. Justin knows it'll be gone in a few minutes. My husband knows me too well. I suck at eating these days. I forget to eat until the afternoon, as I'm busy with the kiddos. When he's home, I eat so much better. He takes good care of me. I'm one lucky gal.
11:35 a.m.- 12:15 p.m.- We sit and eat with our friends and have a good time. Justin appreciates getting to talk all things nerdy with our new friend, Michael.'
12:30 p.m.- We head home.
1:15 p.m.- Justin puts Gavin down for quiet time and I start mixing ingredients for homemade ice cream for our Pi Day party.
1:30 p.m.- The ice cream maker is going, and I start making a cherry/apple pie.
1:40 p.m.-Pie's in the oven. I clean, organize, do dishes, vacuum, etc., etc.
2:15 p.m.- The ice cream maker is done. I put the ice cream in the freezer. Justin and I snag samples. D.Lish.
2:30 p.m. -Release the Kracken! We let Gavin out of quiet time.
2:35 p.m- Feed Ruby.
2:35 p.m.- 3:45 p.m.- Cleaning, feeding children, ya know...mom stuff.
3:55 p.m.- Rebekah arrives and helps me put the finishing touches on our key lime and peanut butter pies.
4: 10 p.m.-The Flynns, Fultons, and Petersons arrive. Our Pi(e) Day Party begins! Woot, woot!
4:20 p.m.- The kiddos play, we all eat some pie and ice cream, and have a good time.
4:40 p.m.- I feed Rubes.
5:00 p.m.- Justin gets out the PS4 and all the guys play Ultimate Tetris together. Good times.
5:00 p.m.- 5:45 p.m.- Party, party, pie, party, party, pie, party, party, pie, party. :)
6:00 p.m.- We get ready for Mormon Formal. We're chaperoning tonight. Yay!
6:30 p.m.- We make ourselves presentable for our hot date. :)
6:45 p.m.- Rubes is hungry. I feed her.
6:55 p.m.- We're headed out the door to drop the kids off at the sitter's. We're late. Dang it.
7:10 p.m.- We drop the kids off at Leuyeni's. Love her. We give her the low down.
7: 40 p.m.- We made it! Only 10 minutes late, but we made it, Brad gives us a tour of The Bell Tower. Nice place.
7:50 p.m.- The youth start showing up. I snag a piece of cheese from the snack table. I'm hungry! Justin goes to grab us some dinner, as we haven't ate since Taco Bell.
8:00 p.m.- Our friend, Sherry (Love her!) arrives to help chaperone. We chat and keep stray adults from coming in to the dance. Really? What 40 year old adult wants to go to a teen party?!?! Weird.
8:15 p.m. -Justin is back with pizza, wings, and cheesy breadsticks. My hubby rocks. Sherry, Justin and I chow down.
8:20 p.m.- Leslie comes by with an 8 minute warning that we'll be changing stations to be on the dance floor.
8:28 p.m. -The chow down is over. We head to the dance and watch the silly kids dance. It seems like yesterday that we were youth.
9:15 p.m. - We dance and take advantage of our 'date night'.
9:30 p.m.- And the mosh pitting begins. Justin sees it before any of us can (because he's vertically blessed), and steps in to calm the raging hormones and testosterone. :)
9:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.- On-call mosh pitting duty. Justin is a STUD.
10:30 p.m.- We get some dancing in. A youth asks him if he's a chaperone. Justin responds in the affirmative, and pulls me over to prove it. Then, I tell them that we have 2 kids. They were pretty surprised to say the least.
10:33 p.m. -The D.J. asks me if we're having a closing prayer. I ask Leslie, and she asks another higher up. Positivo. I ask Kelsey to say the closing prayer and let the D.J. know.
10:45 p.m.- The closing prayer is said and it's last dance time.
10:48 p.m.- We dance and sing along. It turned out to be a fun date for sure. :)
10:50 p.m.- Justin checks in with his mosh pitting buddies to make sure there are no hard feelings. We cool. We're on our way to get our kiddos.
11:25 p.m.- Justin grabs cash from the ATM to pay the sitter while I fill the car with gas. Teamwork.
11:35 p.m.- Gavin is STILL AWAKE. SERIOUSLY?1?! Our son is nuts. He can go an entire day without sleeeping. Rubes is starving. We pack up and head home so I can feed her.
11:43 p.m.- I feed Ruby while Justin puts Gavin to bed. G is asking, "Bottle, Peep?" (sippy cup of warm milk and the cartoon Peep and the Big Wide World. Probably my favorite kid;s show since becoming a mom. Classic.) Crazy kid.
11:50 p.m.- I crawl into the bed exhausted. We snuggle and I knock out. Justin was talking I believe. I could have even fallen asleep while he was mid-sentence. My bad. Love you, babe. :)

Step More Fully into the Sunlight

Recently, this phrase has kept popping up in my mind. I went back to read a talk given by Gordon B. Hinckley entitled, "Spirit of Optimism". I encourage you to read it. It is a great reminder of how blessed we are, and how truly happy we can be. Find it here: https://www.lds.org/new-era/2001/07/words-of-the-prophet-the-spirit-of-optimism?lang=eng.

Hinckley encourages us to, "...stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight." How often do we emphasize the negative and belittle the positive? Probably more often than we would like to admit. I, too, have found myself in this trap. Sometimes, I think of all the other things I could be doing besides playing blocks with my son for the upteenth time. Then, I remind myself that I am lucky to spend so much time with our little one. I am truly blessed. I have been reminding myself to think more positively lately, and I feel like it adds more sunlight into my life, and that of my family.

Epitomy of happy=this dude!

I believe that Gordon B. Hinckley was echoing the words of the Savior in admonishing us to be happy, and to see the good in life. There is so much good in the world today. Yes, we hear of terrible tragedies in the world  today, but there is even more that is positive happening all around us. Yes, there are clouds and detours on our journey through life, but as we learn to focus on stepping into the sunlight, we will lift ourselves and others along the journey.

Keep stepping into the sunlight! It's warmer and happier over here! :)

Who is "the lost sheep"?

Sorry for those of you who struggled through reading my last post. That was brought to you by the emotions and hormones of a crazy pregnant lady. Veesh. Sorry. However, that reminded me that I enjoy writing. My toddler is miraculously asleep, so here I am writing again . :)

I have a good friend named Nathan. I've been thinking about him a lot lately. I miss him. He committed suicide two years ago. He was always the one to give you a hug, look you in the eye and truly ask you how you were doing. Everyone who was lucky enough to know him loved him. He truly cared for others. What was so hard for a lot of us to see was that he was truly hurting, and hurting alone.

                                                             Me, David, and Nathan

I often think of him and wonder how his life could have been. He would have been an outstanding husband and father....or well, anything. Why did he end his life? It makes me wonder if he often felt like the 'lost sheep'.

In Luke 15, Christ is teaching to publicans and sinners about the lost sheep. In this parable, Christ is likening the lost sheep unto a sinner that returns to the fold. I think that this also applies to bringing those who feel lost, unloved, or unwelcome back to the fold. These individuals are often hidden. They are those who are the "wallflowers" that shy away from interaction, the "invisibles" that seem to evade our efforts to find them, and even those that are "in the fold, but not felt to be of the fold". Of these three, I believe Nathan felt like the third example.

Nathan was often surrounded by friends and was involved in church and social activities. Was he interacting with others? Yes. Did he smile, laugh, and tell jokes without hesitation? Most definitely. Did he appear to fit in? Absolutely. What was it that made him feel so lost?

                                                            Kevin, Megan, Nathan and I.

I think we all feel lost at one point or another. We're the 'new guy' at the office, the family that is running by the seat of our pants, and the mom who's too busy to be at social activities. We're the person who plans everything but doesn't feel like a part of it, we're everyone's friend, but no one's close friend. In short, we are everyone.

Becoming the lost sheep can be a fast or slow experience. Not being invited to an activity, suffering a loss with no recognition by friends, and sitting alone in the back of a church meeting are all ways that the process of feeling alone can start. While it is important that we choose not to get offended, it is still easy to feel hurt, forgotten, or unloved. What happens if those few and far between occurrences become the norm in our lives? What if we start to feel crippled by our feelings of loneliness and feeling lost? That is when we become the lost sheep.

Why should we be concerned if others (including ourselves) are becoming the 'lost sheep'? Because it is a slippery slope from there. Without being able to hear our Shepherd's voice, we can easily get lost and lose our way in the wilderness where danger and wolves beckon. Our true Shepherd is always there. The hard part is staying close so we can hear his call. Sin, pain, stress, tribulations, distractions and feelings of loneliness keep us from hearing His voice. He is calling. We just have to choose to hear Him and follow. That's why we don't want to have our ears deafened when we are lost. We need our Shepherd. We need our flock.

So....what can we do as the flock to help the lost sheep to hear the Shepherd? We need to extend his love, forgiveness and kindness to all. We need to reach out to ALL of His sheep...even if they seem like they don't need it. Camilla Kimball, wife of President Spencer W. Kimball, once said to, "never suppress a generous thought." If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and say hi. If you have extra food leftover from your dinner, bring it to the family that just had a baby. If you have a few moments, call your sibling you haven't talk to in a while. Every generous thought and deed goes a long way for you, the lost one, and the Shepherd. Christ teaches us that bringing the lost sheep back unto the Shepherd will bring,"likewise joy...in heaven." Joy in heaven? The happiest place we know of-heaven-will experience joy? That sounds like one amazing feeling. I want to have that, don't you?

Bringing joy, love and warmth into someone's life who needs it can do wonders. I wonder what would have happened if someone would have called my friend Nathan in his darkest hour. Would he still be here? What if we knocked on our friend's door at their unbeknownst darkest hour? Satan is real, and he can make us feel darker and more alone than we can imagine. On the other hand, Christ can make us feel more happy and loved than we can imagine. He rejoices when we return to Him, and we can become our best selves through Him.

The world needs more Nathans. The world needs more Sarahs. The world needs more Georges. The world needs more Penelopes. The world needs you. Our Shepherd needs you. We must all choose to hear His voice-both as a lost sheep and as part of the flock. Reach out to Him. Reach out to others. That is the way to eternal life and happiness.

"And when he hath found it (us), he layeth it (us) on his shoulders, rejoicing."

*Clinical depression and suicidal thoughts should be acknowledged and referred to a licensed professional. Depression and suicide should not be fought alone.

Frankly... (Ok, Brain, can I sleep now?)

It's late and I can't sleep. Typical, right? I am almost 36 weeks pregnant, so that's totally normal, right? ;)

Maybe. But right now, I can't sleep because my mind and heart won't let me rest. I just need to let out my emotions and hormones. I know I will probably want to burn this post up or never let it see the light of day. But I feel like this might be a way for me to help myself heal from the past few years, and hope that maybe I can help others along the way. And please, please, please, don't be offended. I just need to lift this burden from my shoulders by getting it out there in the open.

So, here's a little about me if we haven't met. I'm Janae. I am a mom and a wife to the best husband and 2 year old son I could ever ask for. Our baby girl is due at the end of November. I am beyond blessed with a beautiful family. I love to do pretty much anything. I would probably describe myself as a Jill of all trades, but a master of none. Name a random hobby, and I've probably dabbled in it a little over the years, but I am no expert in any of them. I'm a perfectionist, an over-achiever and a people-pleaser.

My life is incredibly blessed, but it has been difficult at the same time. I know many would say that they feel the same way. Life is tough, but ever beautiful. However, these past few years have been particularly challenging for me. In the past four years, I graduated from college, got a job in my career field, got married, had a son, bought a house, my husband got his dream job, and we are expecting a baby girl. That all sounds pretty awesome on paper, doesn't it?

Well, frankly I haven't been doing great. Most everyone that I've met throughout my life would describe me as a happy, outgoing, and caring person. Truth is, I have kind of struggled with that over these past few years. After a bout with depression after my son's birth, teaching in inner city schools and getting treated like garbage there, financial struggles, sickness, and a lack of social support, I am kind of just hanging on. If it weren't for my amazing husband, my mother, and my ever loving Heavenly Father, I would be an absolute mess.

We all need each other. I have always loved getting to know people, serve them, and be friends. That has always been one of my greatest joys, but lately, one of my biggest struggles. They say that it's harder to make friends once you're older (ya know, ya can't just get all friendly with the medical biller you're on the phone with like you could with the guy that sat next to you in Biology class now, eh?). I think that is partly true, but that mostly, it takes more effort from us to make those friendships. Friends came easily to me when I was younger, and it has gotten increasingly difficult through the years. I had many friends in college, and I love getting to see them accomplishing things and being happy on Facebook, but honestly, I feel pretty forgotten. I had three best friends then. Two won't talk to me (one's a dude and not married so he's totally exempt). I have no idea why. Things like this sound silly, but to someone who's tried really hard to keep those friendships alive and tried to make friendships harder than ever these past years, it really hurts.We need friends to lift us up and to help us through good times and bad.

I guess maybe sharing my experiences could be helpful. Three-ish years ago, I moved to VA to accept a teaching position. I am from WA, so this was quite the move! My husband and I were engaged and he was still out West, and he joined me a few months later after we got married. I taught in a high poverty school....like 99% free and reduced lunch and in the neighborhood with the most concentrated poverty South of Harlem. It was quite a change of scenery from edgy Provo, UT. :)


 I was so stoked to be teaching in a high needs school and came in with many ideals on how I could change the world as most new teachers do. In reality, I taught Spanish to kids K-5 for 30 minutes once a week who didn't even know basic reading and writing skills in English. Well, mostly. My class was viewed as unimportant, so about 1/3 of the year I spent being a test proctor for state tests and a substitute for classes that a sub refused to come in for, or because a teacher had physically disciplined a child. Yes, it was that school. The one that you hear horror stories about. I had to break up physical altercations at least once if not twice a day, and be on the lookout for students trying to jump me. In an elementary school!

 I tried really hard. Being an over-achiever, I felt empowered at the beginning of the year because I saw so much potential in the things I could change. By the end of the year, picking up 3rd graders off the floor to avoid them drawing blood from another student (while being 5 months pregnant) was really draining. The worst part about it was that I had no support. I made the point to go to the teacher's lounge so I could interact with other staff members, support other teachers when their kids were selling Girl Scouts cookies, and to talk to others at staff meetings,etc.

 The reality was that they thought I was weird. I was from out West, I was young, white, and I was a Mormon. Mormonism is not well understood out there. There were rumors spread that my husband and I had an arranged marriage and that I didn't like black people. Wow. Both of those are definitely not true. Anyway, it was rough. At the end of the year, my husband and I decided to call it quits, as we were expecting and that kind of work environment would not be good for our family. At the end of the year, I got a review from the vice principal (from an observation that she did at the beginning of October without ever returning to my classroom) saying that I was decent, and that I needed to work on classroom management. Thanks for the help! Not. Not a single referral I wrote got acted upon by the administration, and I was often told by the students and aides that they behaved better for me than for their classroom teacher. For an over achiever like me, that was painful. I taught at another school district part time two years later, and have healed a little. I love people, and I love teaching. Well, I keep telling myself that, but I am honestly a little too scarred still to want to go back to the classroom unless I really need the money. Since I was young, I have always dreamed of being a teacher, and this kind of pulled the rug out from under me.

Later that year, our son was born. What a ray of happiness and light he is! He sure keeps me on my toes. Of course, those kind of amazing kids take their toll at the beginning of their lives. Gavin was a healthy 9 lbs. 3 oz. baby, with a hefty appetite to go along with his size. Anyway....he nursed every hour during the day until he was 5 months old. That is rough. I really feel for people who are nursing. It takes a lot of energy and patience. At 5 months, I introduced rice and then other foods into his diet. Thankfully, that helped curb his hunger. However, for those first 5 months of his life, I was pretty stuck. Going somewhere or doing something meant that it had to be done very quickly, or just not done. Period.

 Anyone who has gone through this knows that this can cause a lot of anxiety and stress. I love going out and being outside, but I felt like I was constantly attached to a ball and chain. Not to mention, you isolate yourself when you are in that situation. I can remember many times in the first part of his life not being able to do a simple thing such as singing Primary songs to him, as I would begin to bawl. I often felt alone. I had to rely on prayer to get me through those times. These parts of our lives were so wonderful as we love our little boy so much, but immensely difficult, as I felt the essence of who I am was hollowed out as I became full of anxiety and stress. I still feel like I am gradually building up to the person I once was. Even though his birth had sent me through a rough patch, he was and still is what gets me through the day. When he looks up at me with those big brown eyes and says, "Lub you, Mommy," I know that what I do is ok. I may not be a good mom, but I know that my husband and son love me and appreciate what I do for them, even if it's not Pinterest worthy. :)

Along with being stuck with a newborn all day, my social support really suffered. We had made a few friends from church before Gavin was born, but I was working at the time. I wasn't part of the 'mom club' because I couldn't be there. I looked forward to when my son was born so that I could hang out with them, but that wasn't the case. I went to a few playgroup activities, and ended up going home disappointed as I spent 90% of the time nursing him, or couldn't relate to the moms talking about potty training, as I knew nothing of the sort. We made it a point to go to church and church activities, as we think that is important to God, but also, to help us make friends. We were in various leadership positions and worked and served right alongside many people, but never really felt like we were part of the club. We didn't necessarily fit in with the locals, and weren't cool enough for the dental/medical families.

After a little while, I tried a few jobs in the hopes of getting out, finding a different career path, and expanding my work experience and circle of friends. That didn't really pan out either. Finding a babysitter who would watch my son was difficult. People seemed to think that he was difficult and a burden on them, even if I paid them. That was hard because I knew that I needed to get out to work or to go on dates with my husband but I was so worried that I was inconveniencing someone with my son that I felt guilty and stressed the whole time I was gone. Luckily, I found a good babysitter the 2nd year that I taught. She was a Godsend. I am grateful that for that time when we really needed the money from me working we had Andrea. She really cared for Gavin, and I am so grateful for all she did for us.

Earlier this year, my Justin got his dream job. We moved back across the country to CA.  We were very excited to be closer to family (a 5 hour drive is much better than flying across the country for sure!), and we were both hoping that it would be a good change of scenery for us. (I had frequent ear and sinus infections out there due to new allergens and we were hoping to find friends.) Once again, I found out I was pregnant right after we moved here. I was scared. Pregnancy and all that jazz had taken its toll on me before, and we were new here, too. Moving to a new place and expecting a baby is difficult. Having children means wanting people to celebrate with you, and needing a support group. That is hard when you don't know each other that well. When I can attend activities (Justin doesn't get home from work until 7 usually), I go. I've been trying as hard as I can, and I think we're ok. We don't have tons of close friends, but I feel like we are making progress. Moving is just hard. I used to love moving in college so I could meet new people, but you really need a good support group with kids (especially if you don't live close to family).

I hope that you're not offended and that you haven't had your ear talked off (or *ahem*....read until your eyes are sore). I feel like that was therapeutic to get some of it off of my chest. I don't think any of us really have all our ducks in a row, but that we can help each other to do so. I hope that we can help each other in healing and becoming our best selves. It's a long and lengthy process, so stay a while. Let's be friends. Let's get better together.

Love, Janae :)

A Day in the Life- 2014 Edition

Hey there everybody! I did a 'day in the life' segment last year, and thought I'd be fun to do it again. So, here goes:

WARNING: This post may contain sarcasm, potty humor, and lots of run on sentences. Read with caution.

4:35 a.m.- Gavin is awake. I pick him up and nurse him. Snuggles and more sleeping occur. Opah!
6:45 a.m.- Justin's alarm clock goes off for the first time. Blegh.
6:50 a.m.-Goes off again.
6:55 a.m.-And again. Justin sprints off to the kitchen to turn it off and his little snuggle buddy wakes up. Dang it! That means Gavin is nursing on me again now.
7:00 a.m.-Destruction of the house begins. Gavin has the diaper cream in his hand, and I grab it from my snoozing stupor before it's all over the carpet.
7:01a.m.- Gavin is emptying my socks and unmentionables drawer. He has figured out how to crawl on top of the diaper box next to it, and get in. Lovely.
7:02-7:14 a.m.- Justin is peacefully snoozing and I am in that half asleep-half awake world to keep an eye on Gavin. He has spread diaper wipes, clothes, socks, and papers all over the floor. Lovely.

7:15 a.m.-I accept the inevitable. I am awake! Ok, now to change Mr. Poopypants.
7:17 a.m.-I start making eggies for G's breakfast.
7:18 a.m.-Gavin has grabbed the pizza box from Tuesday off the counter and it crashes to the ground. Looks like it's cheesy breadsticks for breakfast for me.
7:25 a.m.-He ate 2 eggs all by himself, plus a strawberry and some juice. Big boy!
7:26 a.m.-He is screaming to get out of his high chair. Justin grabs him.
7:30 a.m.-Justin can't find his keys. I find them by the TV.
7:35 a.m.-Justin heads off for work. He is running today. I am proud of him for keeping up with exercising at work and such since we moved here.
7:36 a.m.- Gavin doesn't want Justin to leave. I grab some recycling and we walk to catch up to Justin stretching. Gavin is running barefoot with just a shirt and a diaper on. That's how we roll. 
7:38 a.m.- I put away the recycling and Gavin is pushing the button for the elevator. I grab him before he runs away. He is definitely a flight risk!
7:50 a.m.- I convince G to stay put in the bathroom so I can take a shower. I bribed him with shaving cream. Good stuff. I seriously recommend it to anyone with a toddler half as busy as G.
8:00 a.m.- He decides to try tasting the shaving cream. Ok, shower is over.

8:01 a.m.- He poops in the shower. Poop #3! We're going for the record today! (He pooped 7 times on Tuesday)
8:20 a.m.-Can't forget the laundry in the dryer. I need pants. I fold laundry. Gavin folds them his own way. I go through my soon-to-expire coupons and grocery list to go shopping.
8:30 a.m.-I turn on the Disney Pandora station and we dance, until he gets bored and I get him a cheese stick.
8:40 a.m.-I finish the dishes and start the dish washer.

8:50 a.m.-I decide to blow dry my hair. Gavin decides to decorate the bathroom with toilet paper,
bobby pins, and hair ties. Beautiful.
9:10 a.m.- Alright. Ready to go! Scratch that-someone is hungry again. He grabs yogurt out of the fridge.
9:20 a.m.- I catch up on e mails and G is covered in yogurt. Ok, let's change before we go.
9:30-9:37 a.m.- I am writing this post. Gavin is scary quiet.
9:38 a.m.-Snap! He has emptied the garbage on the floor, including the carton of eggs with shells in them. I hope he didn't eat any of them. I clean it up and put the garbage away.
9:41 a.m.-We go back to our apt. I have to convince him to follow me by playing peek-a-boo. Phew! We made it back. I find G like this:

9:52 a.m.-Now I'm hungry. I munch on cereal and a banana and give up on that morning grocery trip. G likes Honey Bunches of Oats, too. Good stuff. There's a ward play group at 10:30. We'll just go straight to that.
10:00-a.m.-G is entertained by the Nexus. Horrible parenting, I know. I needed 5 minutes to breathe.

10:02 a.m.-J has e mailed me back. I usually write, 'lub Jew!' for 'love you'. Autocorrect wrote, 'lube Jew'. Autocorrect:1, Janae:0. Nice. I see if J has sent in the bank statement for the rental application. Crazy stuff right there. We bought a house a year ago (a HUD home, too!), and getting a 2 bedroom condo rental here seems just as difficult. Que interesante.
10:03 a.m.- We are off!
10:20 a..m.-We made it! G goes out to play while I go to chat with the other moms.
11:00 a.m.- Gavin sits on top of a little girl and starts playing with her toys. Um, whoops! Sorry! Trying to explain to a grandma that doesn't really speak English that your giant kid is just a baby is difficult. Should I act out him being only a baby by rocking my arms as if I was holding a baby? No. She'll think I was calling her grandbaby a baby. Um, I'll resort to explaining it by saying, Sorry! Veesh. Poor kid. I have to explain his age a lot to people.
11:50 a.m.-Time to head home for nap time.
12:00 p.m.-I am starving! Carl's Jr. it is. I am so proud of myself for navigating myself there sans GPS or phones. Go me!
12:05 p.m.-Gavin is munching on his fries and I am polishing off my burger. Oh, burgers. How I love them.
12:15 a.m.-Home at last! And it's my favorite part of the day! NAP TIME! YAY! I offer G some milk. He refuses. I change him and put him in his crib . He folds his arms and wants me to pray. We pray. I give him his monkey that he hugs and he is gaining all sorts of adorable points I sing him 'I Am a Child of God' and leave.
12:30 a.m.-He is chatting and making noises from his crib. I start cleaning. Justin wants me to use nap time for 'me time' but I just can't do something if it's messy. Plus, we have visitors coming this weekend. Yayayayaya!
12:50 p.m.- I am typing up this lovely story. G is finally in peaceful slumber.

I am enjoying just relaxing. My sister calls to let us know that they're on their way. I am catching up with a few friends on FB, checking out Pinterest, ya know, the 'usual'.Yay!

3:00 p.m.- He is up and ready to nurse. I love these snuggles!
3:20 p.m.-We start playing and wrestling. Love that kiddo!
4:00 p.m.- I clean and organize while Gavin watches some much needed Tro Tro and Oso.
4:40 p.m.- I call Justin to find out when I need to pick him up from work. Looks like it's gonna be a late night.

5:20 p.m.- Errand time! We go to a bike shop to pump up the tires on the stroller.
5:30 p.m.-We go to UPS to send in my broken phone.
5:40 p.m.- We go to Ralph's to get some groceries.
6:10 p.m.-My coupons aren't working. I help the checker and I saved lots of moola. Man, I love good deals.
6:30 p.m.- We leave and try to pick up J at the designated time. Whoops. We're late. Gavin plays with the toy eggs I got him at the store. I can't wait for Easter and to see Gavin hunting for eggs and having fun!
6:45 p.m.-We meet up with J and it looks like it's gonna be a while.
6:55 p.m.-I hurry and pack up Gavin, the stroller, and the groceries. We get to the apartment and Gavin pulls a baby dinner out of the bag and brings it to me. Poor little guy was hungry and was patiently waiting for some dinner. Awww.
7:00 p.m.- I call my sister to make sure they haven't called already and to see where they're at. They're almost here!
7:05 p.m.-I'm packing up groceries when she calls to say they're here. I pack up Gavin with his dinner in the stroller and we're on the hunt. We can't find her.
7:10 p.m.- I borrow a security guard's phone to call her and navigate her. Apparently they were in the apartment next door. Whoops.
7:15 p.m.-We head back and G is all smiles entertaining his crew.
7:35 p.m.-I tickle G and he bongs his head. Poor little guy. He is so tired but I want him to see Justin before he goes to bed.
7:50 p.m.-J is here! Yay! He plays with Gavin for a bit and then puts him to sleep.
8:10 p.m.-We chat with Amelia and Jonathan (her fiancé).
10:30 p.m.-It's bedtime. J and I finish the dishes and I am typing. Life is crazy, but most of all, it's great being with the ones I love. I sure love my boys and I am so happy to have them in it!
Much love, Janae :)

Life as of late....Well, is 9 p.m. late in the Hixson home?

It's 9 p.m., and not a creature is stirring, not even a Hixson boy looking for a snack!

What ever shall I do?

Clean, organize, and blog...finally. :)

Life has been pretty busy. Here's what's up with us:

Gavin is growing and developing soooooooooo fast! He is WALKING! He also nods and shakes his head, rocks out to music, can book it up the stairs in 10 seconds flat, and is a very busy and happy boy. Love him!

Justin is still doing great at his job as always. He went on a camp out with the Young Men last week, and they went to Shoosmith's. They had an awesome time. I'm glad he gets some 'time with the dudes', even if we miss him the whole time. Oh yeah-that reminds me that he is going on a kayaking trip tomorrow. Rough life, eh?

 I will be teaching this fall. Woot, woot. I will be teaching Spanish 3 days a week (Wed.-Fri.), and at a different elementary school each day. That will be interesting for sure.

As summer is winding down, it's fun to look back at some of our adventures this summer. This summer, we:

-Went to VA Beach and got to hangout with Noel and Jeyza who came all the way from Washington-state that is. :)
-Went up to Philly and hung out with the Durans. We checked out the Please Touch Museum and Sesame Place. Gavin had more fun than you can imagine. Seriously. He was like in heaven.
-Went to Buckroe Beach as a family and discovered Smitty's. Good stuff. Look them up. Seriously. Good Americana, greasy, cheap food. It's what Americans are all about. Yum,. :)
-Baby G and I went to Washington to visit my family. We miss everybody. It was a blast.

We had a pretty busy and awesome summer, so bring on the hot cocoa, crunchy leaves, soccer season, apple orchards, Halloween, candy, and goblins!

Love, The Hixsons :)

Our Baby is Eight Months Old Today!

Our little guy is growing up too fast! He sure adds a lot of happiness and adventure to our lives. Our little guy, (AKA, Baby G, Gavs, Monkey Moose, Monkey-Monk, Mono, Monito, G, etc., etc.) adds so much joy and silliness to our lives. Here are some of his milestones and favorite things.

Milestones:
-He has his first tooth! Man, that's been a fun and painful experience. Check out that drool.

-He pulls himself up on the bed, coffee table, and well, almost anything in his reach.
-He army crawls SUPER fast! I'm convinced that he doesn't do normal crawling, since he finds army crawling to be more efficient and fast. :)
-Gavin can now do some normal crawling, but doesn't seem to like it much.
-Rocking out. He hears a beat, and then sits down and rocks back and forth. Love it.
-Eating some table scraps. He likes to feel like a big kid.


Favorite things:
-Strawberries, apple juice, milk (he has nursed the entire past weekend because he was sick and wanted mommy. Silly boy.)

-Yo Gabba Gabba! They took it off of instant queue on Netflix last week. I am still in denial. This is not ok.

-Getting into the fridge or bathroom. I think the extra light draws him in.
-Playing with the plunger (or, at least attempting to. Not with it on my watch.)
-Bouncing. We got him a big boy bouncer that he loves.

-Being outside.

-Taking baths and splashing out all the water.
-Playing with water bottles, toilet paper, all kinds of paper really, pens, etc., etc. Basically anything and everything he can get his hands on, and then stick in him mouth. Being an item that Justin and I use is a plus to him, too.
-Snuggling. He is a little snuggle bunny.
-Giving hugs. When you pick him up, he wraps his little arms around your neck and gives you a little squeeze. It melts my heart.
-Playing the piano and computer keyboard.
-Anything electronic. He is such a Hixson. I swear he'll be programming by the time he's three.
-Mom.
-Dad.
-Dancing with Mom.
-Being thrown in the air.
-Playing with Dad.

We sure love our baby boy! We are so blessed to have him as our son.

 Love, the Hixsons :)