Random Updates

Since this is a family blog, created for the purpose of sharing updates and fun stories about our family, i figured i should actually post some updates.

I have been putting up a crazy amount of recipe and food posts (i am beginning to notice that i have a serious problem - don't worry, we're looking into treatment) , and while some of you may enjoy them, others may prefer more posts about us and our lives. So to the "others", i apologize. This post is for you.

1. Our lives are still pretty dull (but i'm going to attempt to make these updates as interesting as possible) mostly full of work, parenting, and homemaking. Our summer holidays aren't until the end of August.

2. If anyone noticed or cared about the sticker charts i made and blogged about a while back, they are going very well. We still have yet to accomplish EVERYTHING on EVERY list, but we're making real progress and it's encouraging. We moved nearly all our movies from the living room to the bedroom, and brought our books and magazines, mostly the gospel-oriented ones, out and put them on the living room shelves. Not only does our living room look 100% better, but it has helped so much in shifting our focus from watching to reading. The atmosphere that this, and our goal-keeping in general, has created in our home is quite remarkable. We are eating more meals together and spending more time together. The house is cleaner and more organized. We are more patient, courteous, spiritual, and just a happier family than before.

Not that things are perfect - we still have a long way to go, especially in training our tempers (Elijah especially is a phenomenal challenge to the most patient of parents - which Josh and I most certainly are not). I have had many days where i am continually praying for patience, and muttering under my breath "I love my kids, i love my kids, i love my kids!" And we have weeks (like this one) where absolutely nothing is getting done around the house because i have a quilt order to finish by saturday! But it is amazing what morning and evening prayers, daily scripture study, clean dishes, a tidy living room, and at least two meals a day at the kitchen table can do for a home. These are the things we make sure to do, despite the busy schedule.

3. Josh is finally getting some function out of his teeth, and can eat solid foods. Some tough food still gives him trouble, but after only about 5 weeks he's making great progress. He goes for his second soft reline in August, and will get a hard reline some six months after that.

4. My pregnancy is going well. If you noticed the tracker on the side bar, you'll see i'm 24 weeks now. The baby is extremely active, sometimes even to the point where it keeps me up at night (or in the wee hours of the morning!). I've been very lucky, though - the only real problems i have are exhaustion, moodiness, and joint and muscle aches. No morning sickness here! I still suffer from an extreme preoccupation (read obsession) with food, so expect to see more food posts. Sorry, just warning you ahead of time.

5. The boys are doing well, but not entirely free from injury. Elijah threw a truck at Riley's head a week or so ago and gave him a pretty bad bruise over his right eye. It still hasn't completely gone away, and i'm afraid it might even leave a scar on his eyebrow! As for Elijah, he somehow got a nasty scab in his EAR! I was cleaning his ears after a bath one night and he suddenly screamed and pulled away. Then blood started dripping out, and I (being an over-emotional pregnant woman) immediately started crying! I was certain that i hadn't pushed the q-tip in nearly far enough to do any damage! But his balance was fine, he didn't seem to suffer any pain once we left his ear alone, but it still bled! I actually learned how to position a flashlight so i could see inside the ear, which was actually pretty cool. His eardrum was fine, but he had a huge black bulge coming out the side of the canal! But Dr. said it was just a clot, and we must have just pulled out some earwax that was stuck to the wall of his ear. But we learned that a sure-fire remedy for ear problems - especially wax buildup - is a drop or two of olive oil! I was fascinated by that.

6. Right now we are experiancing the first REAL thunderstorm this town has received yet this year, and i'm extremely distracted by my desire to go watch the lightning. Plus, this post is already too long.  So, i'll be signing out now! Stay tuned for the next installment!