Hoping and Praying

Yesterday was a great day for us!! At the beginning of the month, Robbie went to the job fair up at the school, and out of 5 construction companies that had a representative there, only one was actually looking to hire anyone. The guy told Robbie that it would be two weeks until he would start interviews, and we never heard anything from them. So, we gave that up (along with a few others) as a possibility. Then out of the blue yesterday Robbie got a phone call from that company asking him if he would be willing to fly down to Santa Fe, New Mexico for a job interview. The company is actually located in the South, but the job that they are hiring for (3 positions are open) is in Santa Fe. So, I will be handling 3 kids all by myself April 16 & 17 as Robbie will be away on what will hopefully be the job interview that lands him a job. It would be a big relief to Robbie if he gets one of those positions as he is graduating in July and has 3 kids to support. Every other option so far has not worked out, so we are really hoping and praying (and even a little fasting) that he will get this job so we have some steady income after he graduates (and so we can move out of our tiny little apartment that is so very very crowded right now).

On another note, I have been exercising and eating healthier in an attempt to loose weight before Robbie graduates, and I have lost 6 pounds this month!! I know that doesn't seem like a whole lot, but when you've been overweight since giving birth to your 3 year old child, 6 pounds gone for good is a definate plus!! It's even better when you know that your routine is working without affecting the nursing, and you can finally fit into a size smaller pants. Yeah!!

Spring Art

I wish I could take credit for the idea behind this art project that I did with the girls, but I can't. Last year as part of the girls Christmas present we suscribed to a Preschool magazine called Turtle. It comes every other month and is filled with stories, coloring pages/connect the dots, and crafts. The last issue that they got had a neat craft idea that we tried out last week. First, you trace your child's hands. Second, cut them out, dab a bit of glue on the ends of the fingers, apply glitter and let it dry. Third, after drying, you curl the fingers around a pencil so the fingers end up curled out. Fourth, you curl the whole hand into a cone-shape with the curl of the fingers going out and you tape it together. Fifth, you take two green pipe-cleaners (or fuzzy sticks, as our package called them), twist them together, stick them down the middle of the "flower" and tape the stem to the flower. You can also cut out strips of light green paper to make leaves, but I didn't do that. The girls had a lot of fun, especially with the glitter. Gwen's are pink, Grace's are purple, and Georgia's are yellow (and amazingly she cooperated while I traced her hands). This week we are going to try to do the Easter art that I always do with the girls-we paint their feet and use them to make Easter Rabbits. I'll post pictures after we've done it.

This is just a random pic I took of Georgia this morning. Each one of my girls have worn this outfit (given to us by Aunt Traci-thank you!!) and I thought I'd post it. She is definately ready for the 3-6 clothes now, as evidence by the bottom of her legs hanging so far out of the outfit.

Holy Poo and Guilt

So the calendar on my wall is now filled with little markings like #1 BM, #2 BM and #3 BM. I have had to start keeping track of when my kids poo. I was already keeping track of when Georgia went because of her going 4-5 days without going poo (which seems to have passed now...she's been going every day for the past week or two, and sometimes 2-3 times a day). I started with the other two girls because for some reason Gwen went 3 days without pooing, and that worried me a bit, so I started keeping track of her. Then I just figured that if I was going to keep track of Gwen and Georgia then I might as well do it for Grace too. Oh the joys of parenting!!



Lately things have just not been going as well as I would like. Every night I go to bed feeling like a bad mom, and some nights it gets me crying. I never expected that it would be so hard having 3 kids under the age of 4. Gwen doesn't even start Preschool until the fall, so I don't even have that kind of a break during the day. It's me and the girls from about 6 in the morning (when Robbie leaves-if I'm lucky, the girls won't be up yet) until sometime between 5 and 7 at night. Top that with it being winter and the kids getting sick and we are stuck in the house most of the time with no one to talk to but each other. It's been hard...and things feel like they're in such a strong routine that I just get tired of doing the same things day in and day out with no interaction with an adult all day long. So, because of this (and the fact that I think I might have a little postpartum depression) I have been a bit short with the girls at times and kind of unhappy. Add on to that all the guilt of being short with the girls, feeling unhappy when I know I shouldn't, and not having more time to do things with the girls like I used to. I also have felt guilty for not being as good of a mother as I should because Grace screams bloody murder at me when she gets mad or in trouble, and Gwen has a whole slew of things she says to me (I hate you, You're stupid, I don't love you anymore are a few-and where in the world did she pick these things up?). Heck, I feel guilty when I let the house stay a disaster in order for me to do something for myself for an hour.

I told all of this to my friend Kim, and she lent me a book called Toss the Guilt Find the Joy and it's been helping. The past two days though have been really bad ones, and I really needed to vent about everything that was bothering me and how awful I felt, and decided to write in my journal. It's been a while (2 years-how pathetic) since I had written, and boy did it feel good. I had forgotten how good it felt to just sit and write-I love doing it and it's such a release for me. So hopefully that will help on the really bad days. And there are bright points in my days-Grace giving me hugs randomly for no reason, Georgia smiling and cooing at me, and Gwen's funny little thoughts (Disney channel is having a Hero movie marathon on Saturday which consists of Aladdin, Mulan, Tarzan and Hercules. Every time she sees Zeus in the commercial talking to Hercules about what it means to be a hero, Gwen yells out, "It's my Heavenly Father movie!!" Aparently Zeus looks like Heavenly Father.). Hopefully as Georgia grows bigger and becomes a bit more independent things will get easier and I'll be able to do more with the girls and more for myself (and I need that to just feel like a creative, thinking human being instead of a mindless cleaning machine). I just keep telling myself that I am trying my hardest, the Lord knows that, and each day to just continue to work on bettering myself. Tonight will be the first time that I am going to have to put all 3 girls to bed by myself-Robbie is taking a class down in Idaho Falls that goes from 5 (or maybe 6-I can't remember) until 10 tonight. So hopefully things will go pretty well today and the girls will be good for me.

I really do love my kids, and I wouldn't change my life for anything. I would never want to trade my kids for a different life. They are such little miracles and I am so blessed to have been able to have them and for them to have chosen me to be their earthly mother. My greatest fear is something happening to my kids, and I would do anything to keep them from being hurt. They and Robbie are truly the jewels in my life, and they do bring so much happiness and love into our home. I am very grateful for them. I want to thank those of you who have stopped by or offered to help with the girls. I know I haven't taken most of you up on your offer to help, but with me, I always feel like it's intruding on your time with your kids, and I don't want to be a burden on someone else. It really does break up my week when we've had visitors and when we've gone to play group, so thank you to all who have hosted play group or who have stopped by. It has really helped and been such a nice break for me.

Update on Georgia

Just a quick update to let everyone know that Georgia was weighed and measured today, and while I don't know how tall she is thanks to the nurse screwing that up (she said she was an inch and a quarter shorter than she was two weeks ago-I don't think so, unless she's the amazing shrinking baby), her weight I do remember. She is now 11 pounds 4 ounces, which means she's gained about 7 ounces in two weeks. She's getting so big!!

Sisters

What a couple of cuties!! I am so blessed to have such beautiful healthy girls who love each other!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

So thanks to my Irish blood, we got all "greened" up today, and I thought I'd share the pictures. Also thought I'd share a bit about the girls.

Gwen is such a funny little girl. Her imagination is constantly going. She is now pretending to feed people food, meaning that she grabs at air, says she has a cookie for you, and has you eat it. She also sleeps with the same three stuffed animals every night (and tries to sneak even more into her bed-one night she got all 20 or so in bed with her before we went back to check on her) and lately she can't go to sleep at night before she wraps them all up in the baby doll blankets they have in their room. It's really cute.

Grace is talking more and more. We can understand so much more now than we could before. She says "hungee" for hungry, "wan dat" for want that, and so many more. It's great to be able to understand what she's talking about instead of having to guess all the time. We are constantly being asked though if we have twins when Gwen and Grace are together. They are only about 3 inches apart in height and are looking more and more alike as they grow. When I took Georgia in for her checkup both the nurse and the doctor (who has been seeing the girls since Grace was about 8 or 9 months old) thought that they were twins. I love it when she comes up to me, says hi just to check on me, runs off and then does the same thing again in 5 minutes.

Georgia is growing so fast...and her personality is starting to emerge. She is such a calm, easy going little girl but so happy all the time. She is fascinated by everything she sees, and loves to sit up with us and watch things happen all around her. She has this awful habit though of storing up her poo for 2-4 days and then exploding. I can't even count how many blow outs we've had with her, which is something new for us as the other two hardly ever had blow outs. While Rob's mom was here, Georgia exploded so bad that it was in her belly button and up in her armpit on one side. Yesterday she came pretty close to repeating that-it was in her belly button but only half way up her side. She is doing very well though and I love to see her smile.

Rob and I are doing pretty good too. Rob's semester only has about another month left and then he'll only have one semester before he's done. He's already gotten packets of stuff about graduation and we are so thrilled. We are a bit concerned about him finding a job-everything we had counted on or thought about isn't going to work out. Hopefully things pick up before the end of July. I am keeping busy with the girls, cleaning, and crafty projects that usually revolve around the girls (hair bows, blankets, tutus and their scrapbooks). I am also working hard at my goal to loose weight before Rob graduates, and have made a bit of progress so far. Things are going well for all of us and hopefully that will continue-we'll keep you posted!!

2 Months Old!!

Georgia is 2 months old now...it's amazing how fast time flies, and crazy to think that in 2 more months I'll be starting to feed her rice cereal. How fast they grow!! Anyways, she had her well-check on Wednesday and has grown a bit. The doctor said that she looks and sounds great, and that she seems to be right on track developmentally, which is always good to hear. She is now 23 1/2 inches long (up from 21 inches at 2 weeks) and is now 10 pounds 13 ounces (up from 8 pounds at 2 weeks). She is growing so fast, and its amazing that she has gained so much weight because she is sleeping longer at night now. Amazingly (and it's wonderful for me), she now sleeps anywhere from 6-8 hours at night. Course, she chows each time she eats so I guess it doesn't bother her to go longer in between feedings. And she really does chow. I still haven't tried to nurse her again so she's still getting pumped milk in a bottle, and she eats anywhere from 4 1/2 ounces to 6 ounces in one feeding. She is also starting to coo at us and has started smiling...although it takes a bit of work to get her to smile sometimes. She also loves to sit in her bouncer and look at the mirror that hangs over the top of it. I've caught her smiling and cooing at herself an awful lot this week-it's pretty funny to watch her be so fascinated with herself. She is such a sweet loveable baby and I feel very blessed that I got such an easy going and beautiful little spirit. I can't wait to see how much she changes in the next 2 months!!

Gwen's Pictures

So I'm sure that I have mentioned this, but Gwen got a Fisher Price Kid Tough Camera for her birthday last month. She absolutely loves it! She goes around taking pictures of everything (and I do mean everything)! She'll walk up to you and say "Say Cheese!" and snap pictures over and over again-it is one of her favorite toys now.
Well, last night Robbie decided that while he was putting new batteries in her camera (which we go through a lot due to the fact that she uses it so much, then leaves it on) he would download the pictures off of her camera and onto my computer. Oh my word. Since her birthday, January 12th, she had taken 444 pictures!! Who knew that these cameras were made to hold so many pictures!! Out of those 444 though there were only about 40 worth saving (and those include some of the funny pictures she took of things like tv shows and random toys and walls/the ceiling). So here are some of those pictures (the one of Gwen was taken by Grace-she loves the camera too).

Family

It really stinks that we live so far from our parents. It was so nice to have my mom out here in January and now to have Rob's parents and my Dad out here this past weekend for the blessing. It's really hard now that they've all left because I know that we're not going to see them until July for sure when Robbie graduates. It's equally hard on the girls because they wake up looking for their grandparents and I have to explain to them where they went. While the girls are disappointed that their grandparents aren't here any more, I think it's harder on Rob and I. We haven't been home to see family in over 2 years, and while we do get visits from family, it's not the same as having them close by enough to visit at least once a month. Right now with the weather being what it is we haven't even been able to visit Diana and Quinn once a month, and they're the only family we have out here right now. I know that Rob really misses his parents just as much as I miss mine, and it's hard on him too (even though he keeps pretty busy and doesn't have raging hormones from having a baby). I'm just grateful that they were able to come to the blessing and that they were here to see the girls, even if it was for a short visit from all. We miss you all and love you all so much, and we can't wait to see you in July when Robbie graduates!!

A Sweet Baby Blessing

So this is the third post I've done today, but like I said...I had good reason as to why I've fallen behind.

Georgia Ann Congdon was blessed yesterday. What a wonderful experience. We had a lot of family come for her blessing: Robbie's parents Rich and Marj; Robbie's cousin Erin, her husband Shea and son Calvin; my sister Diana, her husband Quinn and daughter Madison; and my dad Mike. It was nice, if not a bit crowded, to have so much family there for her blessing and I am so thankful to all of you for taking the time to come-it means a lot.














Gwen and Grace got dressed up for the special occasion as well. I had the idea to curl the girls hair with curlers, so Marj curled their hair Sunday morning while I finished making bows for their hair to match the dresses (matching) that she had bought for them. They were so thrilled to have so much attention this weekend and to have two friends to play with. They looked beautiful.



Equally beautiful was our newest addition Georgia. What a sweet little baby she is. She has been by far my easiest baby and a blessing to have in our home. I must admit I was a bit uneasy about having another baby so fast and close (again) but she is wonderful and has fit into our little family so easily. I have felt blessed each time one of these sweet little miracles has come into our home (due to just the amazement of creating something like that and some health problems I had) and I have felt just the same with her. She is such a wonderful little spirit and I am in awe that she chose our family to come to. Whenever I have a rough day or feel overwhelmed by having 3 kids under 4 years of age, it helps knowing that I have such a close connection with someone who was so recently living with my Heavenly Father, and I can't help but feel the Spirit a bit more. I am so grateful for each of my beautiful, sweet little spirits.


I am also so grateful for a husband who holds the priesthood and is worthy to bless our baby. I am amazed at the closeness he has with the Lord each time I hear him give a blessing to one of us. Each one is so unique and personal and I know that he has that intuition and guidance from the Spirit due to him doing all he is supposed to. Georgia's blessing was so wonderful, and it's amazing to compare hers to Gwen and Grace's because each is so unique and mentions things for one that isn't mentioned in another. I am grateful that my dad has been able to use a tape recorder during the blessings so that we have full copies of the blessing instead of bits and pieces because of me (or someone else) writing them down during the blessing. I love going back and reading through them...remembering how little they once were, and knowing that they have been blessed with things that will help them through their lives here on Earth. What a special day...I am truly a blessed woman.

Growing Up

I know...another post on the same day. Yet again I apologize, but I've spent the past two weeks super cleaning my apartment for all the company we had for Georgia's blessing, and between that and the three girls, I was pretty occupied.

Last Tuesday I took Gwen and Grace in for their 3 year and 18 month check ups (yes...they were a month over do-at least I took them). What a joke that was!! They did not want to listen to me at all and they cried from the moment we got to the waiting room until the nurse gave them stickers on a popsicle stick back in the exam room, and even then they didn't really behave!! At least it's done and over now.

Gwenyth is now 36 and 3/4 inches long, and weighs 25 pounds. She is small in both height and weight compared to other kids her age, but her height and weight gain are great for her. She's really been growing a little faster than she used to and seems to be filling out just a little bit more, though she's still a skinny little thing. She is developing well in all areas and having no problems. Her imagination is amazing. She told my dad while he was here that she needed a drink...so she took one of her toy cups and put it under her Tickle Me Elmo's nose and then pretended to turn his eyes like she was turning faucet handles for water. She is something else. Our families also got a kick out of her new way of throwing a temper tantrum. When she doesn't get her own way, she says "Ah man!!" then folds her arms like she was going to pray, nods her head and continually says "Hmph!" over and over again, and will even pat her back while having her arms folded. It's really funny to watch.

Grace is now 33 and 1/2 inches long and weighs 25 pounds as well. Yes, Gracie has finally caught up with her big sister. I can now joke that all I need to do for exercise is grab one girl in each of my arms and I have two 25 pound weights. She is tall for her height and average for her weight for her age. She is developing well just like Gwen. Unfortunately she did have to have a shot, which made the afternoon much worse for everyone, but she has recovered well. She is now saying "Ah man!!" thanks to big sister Gwen, and is really starting in on the imaginative play too. This morning I caught her making two of her little toys kiss each other over and over again. She also loves to walk backwards and is creating new dance moves to add to her routine of dances she does to music. She will also take a toy microphone that sings Disneys "Under the Sea" and will not only sing along with the song (and she actually says the words) while holding the microphone to her mouth but she will also dance and wave one arm around and put on a show. It's a hoot.

Georgia is doing well. She doesn't have her next check up until next week (she'll be two months old-wow!!) but I did take her in on Friday for a concern I had, and they weighed her. My little chunker gained 6 ounces in about a week and a half. She now weighs 10 pounds 2 ouces. She's doing really well and is even going for 6 to 7 hour stretches at night two or three times a week. Yay for me!! She also finally smiled at me last night and cooed too. She has cooed a little bit here and there today and has been giving little half smiles to everyone. My dad called her Sammy Snake while he was here because when she gets hungry she starts sticking her tounge out over and over again like she's searching for food with her tounge (like a snake)!! What a cutie.

Grace's First Haircut

So two weeks ago we decided that we were all going to go get our haircut before all our family came out for Georgia's blessing (yes...it's taken me this long to update our blog!!). Gwen was so excited-she's been telling us for months that she needed to get her hair cut. It was no surprise then that she went and sat in the chair and got her hair cut with no problem at all. She even got down, saw Rob getting his hair cut nearby, and was still in such a good mood that she said, "Dada...you look booiful!" Which then made all the stylists laugh, and made my sweet husband turn red.

I too got my hair cut...I usually wait until it's long enough to donate it, but I'm kind of sick of having the same long hair in all of the blessing pictures we've done with the other two girls that I just wanted to have something different and do something that would make me feel better about my appearance. It turned out really cute.

This was Grace's first haircut. We've been growing it out since she was a baby because I love that Gwen and Grace have long enough hair to put hair bows and clips in. We decided though that it was time. We had hoped that she would be just as good as Gwen was her first time (she sat in the chair like a pro and didn't cry at all), but Grace did not like what was going on. She cried and screamed the whole time. They tried having Robbie hold her, giving her a sucker, letting her brush a manequin's head, painting her finger nails, giving her a Valentine's card, and letting her spray everyone with a squirt bottle. She didn't stop crying until she was done and down. Everyone kept saying how hard it must have been for me to sit there and listen to her cry, and while I did feel bad for her, I thought it was kind of funny at the same time. That she would scream and scream because someone was wetting and pulling on her hair like I do while fixing her hair just seemed silly to me. It turned out very cute though and the girls were both thrilled about it (especially the suckers)!!