Putting things into perspective

I haven't blogged in a really long time. But sometimes I just need to write. Tonight is one of those nights.

I really think I used to have it figured out. I'm looking back on my early days of momhood, and I have to say... I knew back then what being a mom was all about. Without any hesitation, I would leave my house a total disaster and take the kids to the zoo. To the aquarium. To the children's museum. To story time. On a walk. To a friend's house. I would push Makenzie and Jarom on the swing in the backyard forever. I would explore with them. We built snowmen. We found ants. For heaven's sake, we did flashcards. We practiced letters. We made crafts. We played together. We played together. A lot.

Fast forward to now. Yes, I have 4 kids now. I am young women's president now. I have an Etsy shop now (Does anyone know I have an Etsy shop? Haha. It actually keeps me pretty busy!). Life is busier. But somewhere in my crazy present, I have lost sight of what being a mom is all about. I've been so preoccupied with keeping up with all the cleaning, laundry, organizing, etc., that somehow my kids got pushed onto the back burner. I keep finding myself telling Kyle that we'll do something together, "when I'm done." And because he is so easy and mellow, I clean away, do laundry, make Etsy orders, etc. while he watches cartoon after cartoon. Okay, that's not all he does, but it's too much. I take some breaks here and there to do things with him and the other kids, but the priorities have somehow switched. The to-do list has taken over my life. That's got to change.

This all came to mind today, right after Makenzie got off her bus. Her bus driver was driving down the 35 mph road outside our neighborhood when she hit an 8-year-old girl who had just gotten off her own bus and was running across the street. The little girl was life flighted to Primary Children's Hospital. And it looks like she isn't going to make it.

She's the same age as Makenzie. Her mom sent her off to school just like any normal day, not knowing that her probably rushed goodbye as her daughter went to the bus stop this morning was the last goodbye she would ever say to her. My heart breaks. I wish she could know that thousands of moms are crying and praying along with her.

All I can think about is time. How little time I actually spend with Makenzie. Good, quality time. I hate the advice, "laundry and dishes last forever but your kids are only little once," yada yada yada. It makes me feel guilty whenever I inevitably have to do the laundry or dishes! But there is some wisdom in it. I need to go back to how I used to be, even if it's just a little. I need to leave the house a mess sometimes and play with my kids. I need to not occupy myself so much with things that don't matter. If that had been Makenzie today, I would never forgive myself for not just sitting and playing with her more. I would do anything for the chance to play Barbies with her. I would take the messiest kitchen in the world and mountains of dirty laundry just to play pretend with her or lay down and listen while she reads to me. It's a wake up call.

If you come to my house tomorrow, it will probably be a mess. It better be a mess! Some things are just more important.

Jarom is six!

SIX!

When I started this blog, Jarom was a newborn. And look at him now! He's a full-fledged little kindergartner.

For breakfast, he went for his favorite. Pancakes. Justin added a little touch of bacon.

 This year was our "on" year for parties. Jarom has been waiting for his Ninjago party for a long, long time! He could not wait!

I actually had fun making this Ninjago cake. I love how creative you can get with fondant! It's like play dough for adults.

Jarom loved it.

For the party, I got so lucky.  The week of the party I went to the dollar store (because I am a giant procrastinator) and they were almost totally cleared out of all Halloween items except for Ninja stuff. I could not believe my luck- they had tons! So I got a ninja mask for the boys and some supplies for our "ninja training camp." 

The boys learned how to make paper ninja stars (no pictures because it ended up being a little crazy helping 11 kids make ninja stars all at once- who would've thought??). It was worth the effort though, they were actually really proud of their ninja stars when they got done and played with them the whole party.

After they learned to make the stars, we did some ninja fight training. They got in 2 teams and had to take turns putting on the ninja vest and picking their weapon- nun chucks or some big inflatable ninja dollar store punch thingy. I think we called them "punchers." ;)

 Then they raced down to Justin and had to hit his inflatable shields. Justin had fun, too. I was too scared for that job.

Then we did some dart training. They had to pop the balloons with darts to get the candy inside. They loved it. And I was so glad it was warm outside so we didn't have to do it inside my house!

I didn't get a pic, but the last training game was getting through "lasers." Justin put a bunch of red crepe paper all criss-crossed in the basement and they had to get through it without touching it. They did a really good job! And of course had fun tearing it all down when we were done. Jarom had a great time with his friends.

And I had to take one last picture of the cake that took me 2 days to make before we ate it!! It actually tasted really good!

Thinking about that wish. Hope it comes true, buddy!

And here is a very happy little 6 year old with many wonderful gifts.

 Loved this card from his friend Tate. ;) Go Cougs!

 

It was a fun party, I hope it was all Jarom dreamed of. Love my little 6 year old!

Here are a few things about Jarom right now:

He is loving kindergarten. We just had his first parent teacher conference and were very happy to hear all the positive things that his teacher said about him. She said she wishes she could just have a class full of Jaroms. She talked about how focused he is. (Wha???) ;) He was like one level ahead of grade level on reading which was just music to my ears. We have had to work a lot on reading so that was a relief!! Seriously so relieved he is doing well in school. I was so worried about him before he started but he is doing great!

Jarom is very loving, and although he has stopped telling me he loves me 20 times a day like he used to (for real), he still tells me often and loves to just sit and snuggle with me while we watch a movie. In fact, he would love to just do that every day. I need to do it more often, because it probably won't last much longer!

Jarom is talented athletically. I think if he works hard, he will do very well in sports. He has shown a lot of promise in soccer. He scored almost all of the team's points this Fall. So proud of his dedication- he's got heart! (Sorry, I'm writing this as if he will read it someday so not trying to sound like a braggy mom, just want him to know I am proud of him!)

Jarom is funny. His jokes really do make me laugh- they can be funny in a mature way. He cracks us up.

Jarom can also be pretty cray-cray. He has LOTS and lots of energy. This is probably a really good thing but it gets the best of me sometimes. I don't think he is like that at school. He better not be like that at school. ;)

Aaaand that's about all I've got because it's really late and I need to go to bed.

But just wanted to post about Jaresy and his 6th birthday! Love that boy!!

Instagram killed my blog

It did.

Six months without blogging?

How does that happen?

Instagram's a start.

And then there's back-to-back marathons, being a mother to 4 children including a toddler and baby (dangerous combination, people), being the young women's president, having a hubby who works day and night, and... more Instagram. I'm sticking with that excuse. Seriously so much faster.

But I can't make that "blog book I'm going to make someday" with Instagram, can I? (Actually wait... can I?) And I can't really share my thoughts and feelings like I can on the blog. So... should I try to catch up?
Yes, I think I should.

There's no way to catch up on everything in true blogging fashion, so I'm bringing a little Instagram to the blog. I'm going to do one or two pictures per share-worthy "moment" in the last few months, each with their appropriate hashtag. 

Here we go:

April:

 #10yearanniversary

#justinhunteddownourphotographerandputourpicturesoncd

 #grandamerica

#truthschris

#ilookfat

#dangit

 #jaromplayedbaseball

#athletickid

#cutedad

#instagramfilter

  #daddydaughterdate

#rediguana

#stakeplay

#samoandress

 #thatsprettyamazing

#busyboys

#atjaromsbaseballgame
#cutebaby

 #newnephew

#matai

#justinsbrotherjakesbaby

May:

#jaromslastpreschoolfieldtrip

#hoglezoo

#friendsfromtheward

#provocitymarathon

#myfriendnaomiandhergirls

#shecried

#sosweet

#iran18thatday

 #childrensmuseum

#mothersday
#kenzmadethissecretlyonthecomputeraweekinadvance
#sweetestgirlever

 

#farmcountry

#thanksgivingpoint

 #beautifulsunset
#fhe
#lovewherewelive
#somedaywewillfinishlandscaping

#theyloveeachothersomuch

 #preschoolgraduation

#adorable

 #lovethispicture
#altahighschool
#goofingoff

 #triptomoab
#grandmasfuneral
#twooldest
#archesnationalpark

#mygrandma
#gorgeous
#stunning
#intelligent

 #morningruns
#lotsofthem
#gorgeous
#daybreak

 #babyshowerforcandace
#justinsbrotherdevinswifey
#loveher

#sometimeswedancehula
#ihopeidon'tdishonorit

 #firstplants

 #utahvalleymarathon
#3:44

 #templedate
#lovehimso

 #cookfamilyparty
#justinsgrandma
#splashpad

 #byufreshmanroomies
#reunion
#cupcakes

 #pool
#lifetimefitness

 #mommysondate
#scarymommy
#watershootingbumperboats
#trafalga

 #jaromsroom
#makeover

 #camping
#boating
#yubalake

July:

#westjordanparade
#4thofJuly

 #mommydaughterdate
#redrobin
#monstersuniversity

 #track

 #snowbirdwithgrandparents

#princessparty
#tinkerbell

 #justinsbirthday
#33

#lagoon
#crazyeyes
#sofun

 #morelagoon
#armsuponthetrain
#sostinkingcute

 #saltlakebeesgame
#cousins

#tiffanysbabyshower
#mysis
#lotsofshowers

#secondgrader
#sosmart
#sosweet
#sobeautiful

 #jaromsfirstdayofkindergarten
#rodethebus
#couldntwait
#ifollowedthemtoschool

 #allreadytogo

August:

#girlstrip
#funfriends
#parkcity

 #milesishere!!
#sweetbaby

 #notstarving

 #firsttimegolfing
#hewasimpressed
#itwassofun
#ilikegolf

#fewofthesethrownin
#longruns

 #familysoccernight
#fhe

 #shefinishedfirstnephi
#enduretotheend

 #tryingtogetusedtodarkhair

#kylesthirdbirthday
#pinata
#funtimewithfamily

OKAY!! That's it. I didn't have pics for everything, but I think this gets us up to speed!
Voila, it is done.