Baby Ry's Tiny update

Despite Ryan being the opposite of tiny (for his age), his life span is quite a bit shorter than say, mine. or Tristan's. or Eric's. So one might think that he may not have accomplished as much as we have in the last 3 months.

Boy, are we wrong.

I may have accomplished more in my ENTIRE life, but I am 23 years and 11 months older than him. I would only hope that this statement was true...However, in the last 3 months? Baby Ryan has me beat!

First, he worked as hard as he could to break free of the womb for fear that his own mother would evict him and he would be homeless. So he forfeited, and I'm sure he still owes me rent money. Then, he learned how to cry, and breathe, and pee, and poop, and eat. All in the span of 24 hours. I can tell you that in the last 24 hours the only thing I've accomplished is changing some poopy diapers and making some Easy Mac.

Then he learned how to flail/move those limbs attached to his tiny cute body. He learned how to turn his head towards sounds, and grasp a finger that was put within his reach.

And the sweetest, most amazing thing he has learned in the last 3 months is how to smile. He is a great smiler.

He learned to recognize Mama's voice from across the room, and that this dark featured, sometimes hairy man is Dadda, and mostly that the constant noise in the room- that's big brother.

Ryan has learned to giggle and coo and wiggle when he thinks something is funny. He has learned to kick his legs and hold his head up. He has learned how to roll onto his back when he's had enough of the tummy time nonsense. He has learned that it makes Mommy happy when he sleeps through the night.

Baby "RyRy" has been the sweetest little addition to our family. He keeps me calm and collected when big brother is driving me bonkers. He can bring a smile to my face at any hour of the day just by being the sweet baby that he is-- great for the ego too, his whole face lights up when he see's his Mama-- even if I haven't showered he still makes me feel like a million bucks. I could not have asked for a better baby, truly. I can't get enough of those sweet baby rolls on his thighs or those little baby coo's.

Just to prove how sweet he is:

T's Big Update!

Age: 20 months (Ok, more like 19.5 but who's counting)

Likes: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, anything Lightning McQueen or Cars themed, story time, Kidz Bounce, Grilled Cheese, Nursery, Trucks or Hotwheels, being a big brother.

Dislikes: Any veggie that Mom might try to hide in my Mac N Cheese, being strapped into shopping carts or booster seats, being quiet in Sacrament meeting, putting toys away, being contained in any form, wearing any type of hat.

Recent accomplishments: Brushes his own teeth, brushes his hair (sometimes-- doesn't understand which side is supposed to brush the hair), Climbed all the way to the top of slide at Kidz Bounce AND went down the slide by himself, can point to "Reese" and "Chloe" (sometimes not sure if he knows who is who though), gives Ryan his blankie and binky (even when not needed), gives kisses to adults on command.

Working on: Asking for food (instead of standing at cupboard whining) and juice (instead of throwing his cup at me), sitting on the froggy potty (as opposed to standing IN it), coloring with Crayons and Color Wonder books, playing with Play-Doh and not eating it.

20 Q's as answered by Mama's Observations (Q's found via Pinterest)

1. Fave Color: Green
2. Fave toy: Lightning McQueen + Wobble House
3. Favorite Fruit: Blueberries
4. Favorite TV Show: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse + Little Einstein's
5. Fave lunch food: Grilled Cheese
6. Favorite outfit: Jeans + Hurley tee + Hoodie
7. Favorite game: Climbing on and off the couch, over and over and over.
8. Favorite snack: Fruit snacks + Nutrigrain Bars
9. Favorite Animal: Doggy
10. Favorite song: Little Einstein's theme song
11. Favorite Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
12. Best Friend: Hunter Green + Cousin Nate
13. What is your favorite cereal: Honey Nut Cheerio's
14. Favorite thing to do outside: Park
15. Favorite Drink: Apple juice
16. Favorite Holiday: Halloween
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night: Doggy, lovie, blankie, binky, Lightning McQueen, Sippy cup (H2O or even empty)
18. Fave bkfast food: Waffles
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Easy Mac
20.What do you want to be when you grow up? Musician

HowlOween

Tristan's first time Trick or Treating was, in a word: SUCCESSFUL.

I'm pretty sure it was one of his all time favorite experiences in his lifetime this far.
Last year, I ordered Tristan's halloween costume in September and spent about 30 bucks on a costume that he wore for about an hour. Learned my lesson.

This year, I took the complete opposite route. I ended up waiting till the last minute to get his halloween costume and the one we wanted was completely sold out. No big deal, I thought. WRONG. I never realized how serious some parents take their toddlers Halloween costumes until I could.not.find.any. At least in his size that were not 40 or 50 bucks. Finally found a costume in his size that wasn't more than 20 bucks and it turned out to be the cutest thing I have ever seen. And then, on top of that I scored an adorable baby costume for Ryan for 6 bucks at the Disney store! Talk about luck.

Baby Mickey :)

Cutest zebra ever.

Are you actually documenting this?

Scary skeleton, zebra, and frankenstein

"What are you wearing" "What are YOU wearing?"

We went with our friends, Justin and Kelci and their boys. They also have two boys (3 and 22 months). Tristan and Hunter (Frankenstein) are 3 months apart so Kelci and I decided that they were best friends when we were pregnant together eating Blizzards in a Dairy Queen parking lot while the boys were off somewhere in the snow. Anyways......

Tristan's trick or treating experience went like this:

Justin and Eric took the boys to the houses while we waited at the end of the driveways with the strollers.

I think this is the house they bolted into. Classic.

Door one: Tristan didn't get it.
Door two: Tristan and Hunter had clearly conjured up a plan to run inside this strange persons home as soon as he opened the door. Hilarious and awkward. I was glad to be at the end of the drive with Ryan.
Door three. Tristan starts to get the idea... Stand there and people put candy in your bucket...for free.
Door four: Tristan gets it.

Door five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, etc... we could hardly keep up. He refused to travel from door to door in the stroller so we had to hit up cul de sac's only. He ran yelling his gibberish from door to door while I laughed histerically at Eric trying to keep up with him.

He did not want the night to end, but we did, and so did Ryan. So we endured two screaming babies as we made the walk back to the car.


ps. it took me TWO HOURS to post all these pictures. thats how much i love you all and want to keep in touch with you. seriously. dedication.

Ketchup

I really dread doing catch up posts, so I'm just not going to do it. I'm just going to try my best to summarize what we've been up to the last 2ish months or so...

OCTOBER

• My mom came for a short visit the first week in October. It was her first time meeting Ryan and the first time she'd seen Tristan since he was 5 months old! Quite a lot has changed with him since then :) We spent our time together shopping (our favorite pastime) and chatting and running errands. It was nice to have the company of my mom. I hadn't quite realized how much I missed her until she was there. It has been the longest time spent apart in my entire life. 

• That same weekend was also Salmon Days. I'm an annual Salmon Day goer. I haven't missed a Salmon Days in my entire life (as far as I've been informed) and I don't intend of ever missing it. I wait 364 days out of the year to have a salmon bagel and there's no way I'm giving that up. We caught the parade early in the morning with Robyn and her girls and her mom, Shawna and then we headed over to the "Field of Fun" to meet up with the Green's and send the kids in some bouncy houses. There happened to be these random creatures walking around (creepy men in animal suits...hmm) that Tristan decided he REALLY liked. He would not leave them alone! It was starting to freak me out. He refused to sit in his stroller so I pretty much had to chase him around the field. It was one of those times where I really wanted one of those child leashes. 

Tristan and his best bud, Hunter learning the ropes of high fiving.

• Of course, the most important event of the month. My birthday. I turned 24. Boy, is there nothing exciting about turning 24...

And last but not least, for the month of October...Halloween.

Halloween gets its very own post.

ps. Sorry about the lack of photos. We finally did away with Comcast so we use my phone as a hotspot for internet so our high speed is limited to 2GB a month...which I'm sure you can imagine we eat up in the first week or so... yay for small budgets? :)

Mr. Thompson's new blog

I've been avoiding my blog.
Not because I don't want to update it, I do..I really do...
Not because I've been too busy (although, I have been really busy with Pinterest instead of blogger...)
But mainly because I know I am SO behind and there have been so many things to fill these last couple months with!

Today though, I REALLY felt like a slacker when Mr. Thompson actually took me up on my suggestion and got his blog started. I decided, enough was enough. If Mr. Thompson could do it...any one can. And that's saying something.

More about Mr. Thompson's new blog.
The Elders frequent our house a lot mainly because of Eric being a new member and my not so active history, and now also because they would like to teach Eric's sister more... but the real reason they come over so much is probably because Eric will talk their ear off about sports. If they ever need to know the score of a game, they can just call Eric. They can also get a play by play if they need.
A couple weeks ago Elder Stock told us about how his brother had started a sports blog because his wife hated hearing about sports so much. I thought that was BRILLIANT! I literally could care less who beat who, or who did what... and I seriously. cannot. go. on. listening to these play by plays any.more. I suggested that Eric do the same thing, that way he could chat with other guys whose wives also can't stand listening about sports, and then he'll get it all out of his system and I won't have to hear it anymore!

Here's his new blog. Please read and PLEASE- TO ALL THE MALE READERS- PLEASE COMMENT :)

www.uwhuskies1988.blogspot.com

Anyway, I really will update you all on the last couple months. Tonight. after the babies are asleep. I promise.

Ryan's life thus far...

Birth Day to week 1-Ryan gets evicted. Mommy is happy. Baby sleeps a lot. Daddy is happy. Tristan is not so happy- wonders why this thing won't go away.

Week 2: First official doctors appointment. Ryan is gaining weight nicely. Mommy wants to sleep. Tristan decides we can keep Ryan.

Week 3: Circumcision. Ear infection --> ear drum bursts  ---> doctors appt ---> antibiodics --> allergic reaction to antibiodics --> Mommy wants to sleep.

Week 4: Ryan will not poop. Goes 5 days without pooping. Cries a lot. Finally poops a little. Grandma comes to town. Ryan likes Grandma.

Week 5: Ryan finally poops. A lot.

Week 5 Day 1: Ryan sleeps through the night.


It has been quite a month! The transition from one to two children has been relatively smooth despite Ryan's health problems. We are finally settling in to a routine and Tristan is learning how to give Ryan kisses. Tristan has recently learned how to "High Five" and REALLY wants Ryan to learn too.

Ryan Joseph has arrived!

Okay, yes... I know that baby Thompson made his arrival over a month ago now and I have yet to even post a picture..what can I say- I've had my hands full!!

Little Ryan made his debut on September 4, 2011 (Yes, LABOR day wkend...har har) at 3:20am. Here is our first photo as a family of four!

and here is our little man!

I promise I will find time this weekend to sit down and write a real post, but until then...enjoy the eye candy! :)

Jory Family Reunion!

We've been back almost a week and I've been too depressed to post about our awesome vacation. That's the worst part about vaca- coming home! Reality blows! Especially in the last month of pregnancy when you get a whole week of rest, and then have to come home to face 3 more weeks of waiting around, but all the while continuing the cooking, cleaning, laundering, and hopeless attempts at entertaining a 1 1/2 year old when all you want to do is lay on the couch.

Anyways- enough complaining. The reunion started out perfectly! My sister (the one who was pregnant with twins) had her girls the morning we were leaving! Talk about perfect timing. I think it's because those girls wanted to meet their Auntie so badly and they knew it would be a couple months if they didn't make their appearance within this week. It was so awesome to get to see my nieces and sister in the hospital! These girls are my 14th and 15th (right?) time becoming an Aunt (blood related, at least) and it was the first time I'd ever gotten to see the babies so brand new!

You can tell I'm excited because I actually put on my makeup to meet them :)
PS. This is Brynne!

Due to the timing of the pregnancy AND the fact that they were twins, my sister was not planning on being able to attend the reunion anyway, so I think it worked out great for her too. She didn't have to miss us all too much :)

It was a super relaxing vaca for both Eric and I, especially since we were unable to make it to Eric's family's this year and this was our first vaca in a year! Not to mention last year's vaca (annual reunion on Eric's side) wasn't that relaxing since we had a newborn in a tent that we forgot to bring poles for....

Anyway, the house we stayed on was in Waldport, OR. Great vacation home! Right on the beach, just the way we like it.
Tristan was meeting most of his cousin's on my side for the first time, so I was a bit nervous that he would be clingy the whole time but to my surprise he was not even a tiny bit shy! Must have sensed all that Jory blood...

Millie & Tristan. Love this one!

My brother Justin and his youngest playing with Tristan in the sand

Some of the seal watchers!

Sand Monster

Millie loved Eric! It was hilarious.

Cousins!

The boys. Brave enough to play football with the sharks..

Can you believe that this is only 6 out of the 9 Jory kids (and their families, of course)

Missing Jana, Clint, Jenae & Bret Parker and Ella & Brynne Parker!

It was so great to spend time with my family, I already miss them! I wish we all lived closer. But then again... ;)

Open Swim Success

We finally decided that since the weather has been so unpredictable, and Tristan really wasn't enjoying the outdoor watering holes too much, that we would try OPEN SWIM! And to my satisfaction, it was great! Finally. I definitely don't have a fishy on my hands but he finally warmed up to being in the pool after about a half hour of screaming. 

The other great thing? It's just down the street. Tristan and I could walk while Daddy is at work. Even better! 

PLUS it was cheap, and there was no sand, and no heat. 

It was actually relaxing!

Justin & Eric playing ball with the boys

The Green's!

                  

SAND!

I am in shock at how a child that literally cries when bathtime is over, even though I've drained all the water out could really just not enjoy any aspect of water outside his bath.

This summer we tried playing in the kiddie pool- didn't like that. We tried going in the lake- that was not as bad but still not great...we tried going in a pool, which was eventually successful but after a lot of determination on my part. And the one thing, I tried to keep him away from was the sand. I HATE SAND. I just don't see the need for all that sand. There's just so much of it, and it gets everywhere.

But of course.. he loves sand. Playing in it, peeing in it and then playing in it, walking on it, and eating it..of course.

Oh hello summer in Seattle...you're late!

I know that the rest of Seattle/Greater Eastside has been throwing a fit for the last month because our summer has just now decided to show up- I have been extremely content with the crappy weather. The 2 or 3 days that it's been hot, I've walked outside to get the mail and felt like the heat may put me into labor so I've retreated to my cave and stayed there.

However, we did venture out a few times. My good friend Kristen and I used to spend every summer in high school at her house and we were moping around about how uncool our own homes were for summertime. Her house is always the best for any occasion, BUT especially for summer. So when she invited us to swim at her parents house on the lake, I decided it was time to come out of hibernation. We had been dying to blow up Tristan's pool but Eric has been slacking on the backyard and frankly, I'm afraid there are gardener snakes out there.

It's safe to say that Tristan did not love his pool as much as I had hoped. The water was a wee cold for him. 

He did however enjoy chasing Kristen's beloved cat...

Oh well. We enjoyed ourselves and Tristan liked the lake much better.

Photobooth fun.

This is what we do when it's too hot to play outside. Tristan LOVES photobooth. He loves to sit next to me at the computer and watch what I do. It's becoming a "thing" that we do each day. Hip Hip Hooray for the simple things that please children...

Advice I would take.

I know I've been slacking again. I've succumbed to my laziness. So sorry.

Here's some food for thought so you don't all forget about me.
Promise to update this week!

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.  Your friends and parents will.  Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone.  It's more healing that crying alone.
8. It's okay to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up your present.
12. It's okay to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others.  You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye.  But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath.  It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.  But the second one is up to you & no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.  Don't save it for a special occasion.  Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now.  Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The more important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything.  Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously.  No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life.  Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
37. Your children only get one childhood.
38. All the truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside everyday.  Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we threw all our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time.  You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel; get up, dress up, and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Favorites : 11, 17, 22, 31, 41 & 43

Advice I would give: 11, 14, 18, 25, 37, & 43.

My All American Baby!

4th of July is not nearly as fun as it used to be, but I'm looking forward to the years where my kids are interested in blowing things up and eating delicious food. 

Tristan definitely has the delicious food part down, just needs to get on board with blowing things up.

We decided not to push the bedtime (no fun for anyone, anyways) so us old people were home by 10 but we had a good relaxing day regardless.

Plus we got to kick off our day with a pancake breakfast our ward put on! 

MmmMmmm :)

The secret to life.

I often find myself thinking that Eric and I are two of the most unlucky people in the world. Then I realize, that individually- before we met, we truly might have been.

Together, we are probably some of the luckiest people out there!

The truth is, I'm learning that it is all in your attitude. Sure, some crappy things happened to us growing up but when I think about it, who doesn't have crappy things happen to them? A lot of those things I either brought upon myself or I chose to be a negative nancy about it and made it out to be worse than it really was.

When Eric & I first met, we did a lot of stupid things like spend our entire paycheck on booze and fast food before the weekend was even over, or park ilegally because we were too lazy to take the time to find a real spot. Granted, those times were some seriously fun and carefree times...we also had some serious consequences. You know, like not being able to pay rent or bills or even have bus money for that matter, getting over $3000 worth of parking tickets or getting woken up in the middle of the night to the sound of a tow truck...the list goes on. We always felt like these things were happening TO us, not as if we had done them to ourselves.

I remember one morning we were trying to figure out how to get to work (all money had been blown and there was no gas in the car and no money for a bus) when finally we just realized, we're idiots.

Well, the good news is! we finally realized that we were idiots.

And we started making some changes. Since then, we have made tremendous progress. We've had some set backs but we've managed to get through it.

We have been blessed with such a great love that I know we can conquer anything that comes our way as long as we are together.

One of our biggest conquests has been money matters. We are truly retarded when it comes to handling our finances. Eric wants to be able to go out to lunch with the guys at work, and I want, well everything...and Tristan needs, well everything and the bills...well, those are just in the way. Even though Eric's hours are probably the worst work hours on the planet, we're lucky that he has a good job and has the opportunity to work so much overtime, or else we would have been flat broke a long time ago.

Anyways. The point of all of this is to share with all of you, that we have finally learned the secret to life. At least, thats how it feels anyway.

We went to our Bishop for help with finances and he agreed to teach us what he knows.  The first thing he did was hand us Dave Ramsey's, TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER. It is our very own copy to keep :) ( I know my sister is going to be so excited when she reads this) We have started reading together and I swear to you, I am obsessed. I made an account with Mint.com and we've been living on what some people call, a "Budget" for about a month now and I just can't stop obsessing. I suffer from a bit of OCD. Which in this case, might just be the best case of OCD that ever happened to us.

I have this image in my head. It looks something like this:

It is a warm sunny day (so maybe...the setting is not Washington? Cross your fingers that it's not) and Eric is dressed nicely and so are our children. They have no sticky fingers or fingers up their noses, and even I managed to apply a little bit of mascara for the day. We are holding hands and laughing as we pick out the countertops and paint, and even carpet to our new home. And Eric even agrees that I should get an entire room for my clothes.

This is the image I have in my head when I am tempted to roll through the Starbucks drive thru for the 2nd time that day...or when I see an awesome deal at Target. Must stay focused.

Wish us luck! :)

"Tough times never last, but tough people do"

I had planned to blog about our AMAZING weekend on Sunday evening, but certain events prevented me from even thinking about a blog, or computer, or anything other than my own family and our safety.

Saturday, Eric & I were able to go to the Temple to do baptism's;  a first for both of us. It was truly one of the greatest experiences. We decided to continue our tradition of celebrating baptism's with Red Robin shakes and fries afterwards. Once we got home, the 3 of us passed out together. We were physically and emotionally drained, but in a good way! We all slept like babies.

Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day with a BBQ and Rootbeer floats and watched a hilarious movie (Just Go With It) with JayC and her kids. It was a truly enjoyable day (and weekend). I loved watching the kids crack up at all the funny parts, and it was just nice to have a relaxing day at home with family.

After the movie, Eric offered to take JayC & her kids home, so I could rest. (I swear, he did more chores on Father's Day than I did--and I somehow managed to get him to do the cooking?)

While he was gone, I noticed that he had forgotten the cell phone, but wasn't too worried about it. I was catching up on my facebook and blog stalking and wondering what Eric was planning to cook for breakfast for his first week of FHM when I heard the car pull into the driveway. You know when you live with people, and you can tell exactly what they must be doing just by the certain noises they're making from the kitchen? Well I've lived with Eric for almost 3 years now and I can tell by his footsteps what kind of mood he's in; so the moment the car pulled into the driveway I could feel that something was wrong. And it was. The first thing Eric mumbled to me when he came through the door was to call the police, but in his frenzy he grabbed the phone from me and dialed them himself without answering any of my questions. All he had said while he was dialing was that someone had tried to rob him. Of course, the first thing I do is check to see what damage had been done to the car, but there was nothing. So I sat there and listened to the story unravel as he told the police exactly what had happened:

He had successfully driven his sister and her kids home and was returning home via a shortcut route that we each take at least several times a week, with our kid(s) in the car. I often drive this route in the evening while it is dark out with Tristan fast asleep in the backseat of the car. From a glance, it looks like I am driving alone. You would never know that there is a baby in the back unless you opened the door. Thankfully (or not thankfully, I can't make up my mind) Eric was actually alone. He was stopped at a 3 way stop when someone approached the vehicle and tapped on the window. When Eric looked, he was staring down the barrel of a gun and a young man no older, or bigger than himself. He was instructed to roll down the window and give up his wallet. Eric did as he was told, and while still pointing the gun, the man rifled through Eric's wallet only to find no cash. He threw the wallet on the ground, took a punch to Eric's face and ran off.

As lucky as we were to not have the actual wallet taken (debit card, ID, social security card,etc were all in the wallet) and of course for Eric's life to be spared, it was a very rattling experience for us. We went over various what-if scenario's of how it could have been worse but in the end, it all comes down to a random act of violence that couldn't have been prevented by us at all. This kind of act makes you doubt your security, and that is something that is not easily replaceable.

When we first moved in this house, I had some issues adjusting to being alone in a house while Eric was at work. I spent the first month hiding under the covers with the monitor up to my ear, calling Eric repeatedly throughout the night. Eric often had to send a police car to drive by the house to check on me. Not one of my finer moments in life. I had finally started to feel more comfortable in the house and gradually found myself busy enough to forget my fears. There are still some nights I turn in early to hide under the covers but hey, we can't all be perfect! Having dogs in the home can be a benefit for some people's security but I fear that my dogs may be retarded. Sometimes when people knock on the door, Chloe hears the echo on the back wall and she ends up barking at a wall... :/ And the only time I have ever heard Reese bark was at a black woman operating a parking garage ( so. embarassing.)

I thought that this incident would set me back, but we agreed that we would not let this stranger win. We said our prayers, Eric planned his FHM lesson, and we went to bed. And in the morning, we ate pancakes :)

Watching the M's game together on Father's Day.
Tristan really was smiling, he just likes to make weird faces when the camera flashes.
Grr..

FHM aka Family Home Morning!

"Family Home Evenings should be scheduled once a week as a time for discussions of gospel principles, recreation, work projects, skits, songs around the piano, games, special freshments, and family prayers. Like iron links in a chain, this practice will bind a family together; in love, pride, tradition, strength, and loyalty"- Ezra Taft Benson

Today marks the first day of our FHE/FHM! We have been wanting to do this for weeks but have never actually sat down to figure out what we would do, or how, etc. We knew it would be impossible for us to actually do FHE on Monday evenings like the rest of the LDS world because of Eric's work schedule, so we're tweaking our FHE a bit, and renaming it Family Home Morning!

We started off our FHM by making breakfast together; what would normally be a cereal/toast/yogurt/bagel/grab whatever you can when you wake up type of morning is now going to be a family cooked meal. Mainly, I cooked the meal and Eric assisted me and kept Tristan out of the kitchen. On today's menu: French toast & scrambled eggs with orange juice! With such a busy body youngster, we figured the best way to do our lesson without having one of us disrupting the entire lesson by having to chase Tristan around was to contain him in the high chair with food. Worked like a charm! He was happy to be there, and we were happy to have him :)

I took charge and kicked off our new tradition by giving a lesson on family and the importance of FHE. Coming from a home that never did FHE, I have never experienced the weekly tradition but I can certainly appreciate the importance of it. I have seen how it has blessed other families and how close those families were and still are.  I remember my mom trying to do some sort of family activity with us, but over time eventually gave up because Clint and I couldn't stop arguing over who got to do what. What I wouldn't give now to have my brother be forced to spend an evening with me. I realize now that although nobody feels cool riding in the backseat, if it meant that I could have an everlasting friendship with my brother, I guess I would let him ride shotgun. A quote I found during my research really stuck out to me, and I have decided it's a perfect quote for our FHM chart (coming soon!)

" We should not be discouraged if every family home evening is not ideal, it is important just to spend time together. The Lord promises that if we patiently continue to hold FHE, He will strengthen our families."

I am so glad I found that quote BEFORE I did my first lesson. I kept this quote in my mind the entire time I was planning my lesson, preparing the meal, and while giving my lesson. My lesson was a simple object lesson on the strength of families. I asked Eric to break a stick (OVER OUR KITCHEN TABLE WITH FOOD ON IT- WHAT WAS I THINKING?!) and then again after I tied a hairtie around a bundle of sticks. Each stick represented a member of the family, and the hairtie represented the strengthening influence of the Gospel...you get the idea, right?


"When we stand alone, we are not as strong as we are with our family. We are stronger when we are united as a family and strive TOGETHER to live the Gospel."


I'm excited to see what FHM has in store for our family, and even more excited to see what Eric comes up with for his first lesson next week! I can't wait till I have two little boys to teach. I've already come to terms with most likely having to tie them down to chairs to get their attention, but I'm totally cool with that. I have made a promise to myself and to my family, and also to God to stick with this and I know it will pay off if I do.

FHM is something that anyone and everyone can do, it's not just for members of the LDS church. Whether it's just you and your spouse, or you're a single parent, or you have a couch surfer living in your home- making the time to do it - even for 20 minutes- is so worth the effort!

Remember:

There aren't really any guidelines to it, except to just do it!

I heart Vitamin D :)

All of my complaining finally paid off!!

God sent me some sunshine!! Unfortunately, I still don't have a tan but I did get a decent amount of Vitamin D in my body so at least I was tolerable to be around if you wore sunglasses.

In our family, we are nocturnal. My husband's work schedule has effected us all and we have somehow managed to train our 1 year old to sleep in until 930..ish. Sometimes, he tries to wake up at 7 and we just laugh at him. Silly baby, you have recovering party animals for parents, what are you thinking?! Back in the day when we were fun we worked a 1pm-10ishpm shift everyday and we barely made it to work on time. Speaking of which, we are always late...to everything.

Another thing you might need to know, is that I am a slave driver. I hate to be idle, and I hate letting a whole day go to waste without making progress on some kind of organizing project I have planned. Usually Mr. Thompson does not appreciate my zealousness (is that a word?) but for some reason he told me he was setting the alarm for 8am because 'he had a lot of things he wanted to get done'*. Amazing.

*(This is the benefit of dating-and eventually marrying- a guy who moves out straight from his parents house to yours...you get to train them to be the way you want them to be! It's fantastic. Every woman should learn from my experience.)

The other amazing thing that happened was that I got to go to a Relief Society activity...by myself! I got to leave the house, without the baby for more than 10 minutes! It was amazing. The Relief Society was putting on some kind of Relaxation Retreat so I was completely down to join in. Relaxation + Vitamin D = a whole new me! That is, until I came home to find that the husband had somehow managed to make a bigger mess in the 3 hours that I was gone, than when I had left. SIGH. Such is life.

Sunday after church, we got to leave the ghetto a.k.a Renton and head out to a prettier ghetto- Lincoln Park in West Seattle to have a little BBQ with some new friends we have made through the church. We really like new friends. It's great to have friends that we can hang out with and not have to worry about whether we're going to die of thirst or not. You never know, some of our friends may have wired their faucets with beer by now.

I also have no pictures to prove that we have friends or sunshine over here in Renton because some certain toddlers think it's funny to take my camera and hide it in the toy bins.

The culprits.

My DNA through my caffeine deprived brain

So.

To my fellow readers:

Some of you may or may not know that before Mr. Thompson and I met, we were each raised in these really peculiar families.

I, come from a very odd, hard to explain, somewhat like the Brady Bunch-but not at all family of 9. Nine kids, that is. Then there's my Dad and our 3 separate moms. We're what people like to refer to as Mormons. I used to tell people my Dad had 3 wives and they'd be like "OMG ARE YOU MORMON" and I'd say 'YES! How did you know?' And then depending on what kind of mood I was in that day, I'd either explain to them that no, he wasn't married to them all at the same time and in fact, I'm pretty sure polygamy is illegal these days, it's also not practiced in my church anymore...OR... I would just kind of leave it at that. It's no wonder people have misconceptions about Mormons.

Mr. Thompson comes from a similar situation, although his is more like the Brady Bunch. Each one of Mr. Thompson's parents were previously married and each had one child, then Harmony and Rich met, got married and had 3 more children (one of which was Eric). For the most part, they all more or less lived in the same home at the same time. So they were kind of like the Brady Bunch.

Okay, so there's the background on our families. Besides the neat trivia it provides, it was really unnecessary for me to tell you that. Except...when I tell you that my sister (who is also pregnant and due 3 days before me) is having TWINS! You won't freak out and be like 'OMG I DIDNT KNOW TWINS RUN IN YOUR FAMILY!' Because they don't. And this is one of those weird times where I get all confused and sometimes forget that they don't, because you see my sister's Grandma is not my Grandma...and apparently she is a twin. This is also confusing because my mother-in-law, (who is not related by blood) is also a twin. And just to confuse you even more, my brother married a twin!

However, the likelihood of me actually having twins, is pretty slim to none.

Which is really unfortunate, seeing as I only married Mr. Thompson for his genetics, and once I found out that twins ran on the woman's side and that Mr. Thompson could not "hyperovulate an egg" (because he is a man)...it was too late. We had already signed those certificates and sealed our fate...as a family, destined to produce one child at a time...apparently just boys!

I've always really wanted twins. But I've also been kind of nervous to ever twins because I don't want twin boys, and I don't want different gendered twins. I've just wanted twin girls. I think it was all that Sweet Valley High that warped my brain. So now that my sister is having twin girls, I am really excited! Now I will get to be an aunt to twin girls which is even better than being a mom to twin girls. I can play with them, and mix them up, and buy cute twin outfits that my sister will have to dress them in, and then when they both decide they want to cry at the same time I can hand them back :)

This is my sister (the one I was telling you about that is pregnant with twins) and me. This picture was taken at my little brother's Court of Honor, which I will have to post about when I am not having a midlife crisis because my baby brother is graduating from high school and now I feel old.

Okay, even though it's Friday night I should really go to bed before I start blogging about how I haven't had enough Diet Coke to get me through the week so my entire family has been sleeping on mattress pads/protectors since I've been too lazy to put the sheets onto the mattress.

the life of an addict.

Sunshine?

I've been slacking on my blogging. I vowed to keep up with my blogging when I made this new blog, but lately my motivation has been out the window. Maybe I should actually take those iron pills my doctor prescribed me... :/

We had about 3 days of sunshine  sometime during mid-May and then it rained the rest of the month. Have I mentioned I could really use some Vitamin D??? Ugh.

Anyways,  so I sit in my house and complain about the weather every day and then when it finally gets nice I spend about twenty minutes outside and I'm pretty much done. Well, my friend Laura forced us- seriously, she bribed me with fast food- to leave the house. She wanted to take Tristan to the park. I had to admit that Tristan had never been to a park before--he has however, been to a dog park. I had been feeling guilty about not taking him to the park yet mainly because we live 5 steps from an elementary school and, really- he's over a year now and he's never been to a park? So I agreed, since I'd have some company and I wouldn't feel so silly trying to get my unwilling toddler to play on toys that were too big for him.

We don't like sunshine or playgrounds or grass, or fun!

We're just big whiney-butts.

This is not to say that I don't have my fun on a playground, but taking children to the park is not my idea of fun. Turns out that it isn't Tristan's idea of fun either. I love him.

He cried all the way down the slide, and cried when I sat him in the grass, and wouldn't release his grasp on my leg for any reason. So we left.

I win. 

Maybe in a year or so, when I'm not so pregnant and the couch isn't calling my name...