Settling in to Lubbock

Sorry I only just got around to doing this post. Things have been a little rough with the kids since we moved. I didn't realize moving would turn their world upside down! JJ hasn't slept through the night since we moved, and even went through a phase of crying a couple of hours every night for no reason. Oli wouldn't sleep in his bed the first week we were here and kept crying and saying "go home" it was so sad!! We've been here just over a month now and they are both finally starting to settle in!

Our new apt

Tim is settling into graduate school really well. He's taking Statistics and Family Theory classes. He's really enjoying them so far. He's also helping a professor teach an Infant Development class which he is really excited about.

Life in Lubbock is pretty slow, it has a nice small town feel but there's still enough here that it doesn't feel too small. Everyone is really nice too. There's not a lot else outside of Lubbock, just fields for a long time! Since we moved here we've been to Dallas (about 6 hours away) to see Tyson & Sara and to Colorado Springs (about 9 hours) to see our friends from Provo and the Air Force game (which we lost quite badly-sad). This weekend was the Texas Tech, Texas football game so there was madness here in Lubbock, and now since they lost the whole town is in mourning, it's a pretty big deal here. It's been consistently very hot and humid, and we've had a few storms in which the roads were flooded in about 5 mintues, it was crazy!

Oli playing in the rain puddles

Unfortunately I've been eaten alive by bugbites (Tim and the boys haven't had any just me!) We've also had at least half a dozen cockroaches in the kitchen. Nice. I'm really liking our new apartment though, it's bigger than our last one and the best thing is:

Big walk in closet!

I'm enjoying life being a mum, it's nice taking things slow and not having to worry about homework and babysitters. Oliver is as demanding as ever, and we're starting to try potty training again, he was doing pretty well before we left but we took a huge step back because he was so stressed on moving. The hardest thing about not living in Provo is being away from family and friends, we really miss everyone, especially Tim's family having them so close before.

So, all in all, it's been a month of ups and downs but we're finally starting to settle in.

32 Reasons......

Happy Anniversary Mum and Dad! 32 years, pretty impressive. As a tribute to those 32 years here's 32 reasons why I love you both and some of my favourite memories growing up.

Mum
1. You make the best chocolate chip cookies in the world
2. I would always know when you were coming upstairs to kiss me goodnight because I would hear the bells on your flowy skirt
3. You would always buy me a bakers oven iced bun when we went into town
4. You would always know which notes we had missed on the piano without looking at the music
5. Estee Lauder and Liz Claiborne!
6. When my teachers said I was too talkative, you said at least I didn't sit in the corner and say nothing
7. You came to every single rubbish violin/flute/voice recital/play I ever had
8. I've never heard you say a single angry word to dad
9. You were never ever late picking us up from school
10. I knew I could graduate school with a baby because you did it
11. You raised 5 children, how did you handle that many toddlers!!!

Dad
12. Because of you I know words like "Ferengi" and "Klingon"
13. You used to pay us to jump into the freezing sea on holiday
14. Some of my favourite childhood memories are fights on the bed and fireman's lifts
15. Hide the ring!
16. You would call at least twice before lunchtime from work to talk to mum, sometimes more
17. You used to say you didn't like Domino but then you cried when she died.
18. The only time I've ever heard you swear was on the football pitch
19. You are the best at telling stories, three little pigs fast version!
20. I would always look forward to my "Saturday" with dad, I love it how we always had to buy flowers for mum
21. You are the hardest working person I know.

Mum and Dad
22. Holidays in Center Parcs, going down Jungle River getting loads of bruises
23. Ilfracombe crazy golf, donkey derby and fish n chips with loads of seagulls attacking
24. You still hold hands
25. Dad still calls mum "darling"
26. Mum still wears her necklace you got when you were engaged because you couldn't afford a ring
27. You lived in a one bedroom flat in london with two children....amazing
28. You never argued in front of us
29. The best example of a marriage to all of us
30. Always came up and said sorry after you told us off because you did it because you love us
31. Should win a best dressed parents award, I'm talking about dad's pointy shoes among other things
32. Have been married for 32 years!!!

Thought of SO many more as I was doing this, but had to choose my favourite ones. Happy Wedding Anniversary Mum and Dad, hopefully this isn't too personal!

Love Al x

Cute Oli Winter 2010

Tim really enjoys teaching Oli all of the football referee signs. Enjoy!

Ti

Desitin Disaster!

Last night before we went to bed we checked on Oli like we always do, sometimes he's asleep in cute positions, or there's multiple toys in his bed. We usually have a little giggle and then go to bed. But last night when we opened the door something was obviously wrong. For one the room absolutely stank, of what yet I did not know. On closer looking at Oli, he was asleep on his back but he was as white as a ghost, it scared the life out of me.

When we quickly turned on the light we saw what had happened. There was thick white paste all over the door, carpet, multiple toys and Oli's bed. His hair was completely coated in it. And then we found the culprit, a whole tub of desitin. It was basically empty, Oli has used enough desitin to cure at least a hundred diaper rashes. I freaked out and began searching for any sign that Oliver had eaten some, there wasn't, luckily. So since desitin is extemely effective at locking out moisture, it is ridiculously hard to clean!! Tim put Oli in the bath and tried to get the paste off his skin and out of his hair while I tried to get it out of the carpet and changed his sheets and cleaned his bed and toys. We found somebody online that said Dawn is effective at getting it out, and it worked! It worked better than anything else anyway. His hair was the hardest part to get clean, its still quite bad this morning so I'm probably going to buzz his head later on today!!

This is how we found him: asleep

I like the handprint on the door!

The bests and worsts of Provo...

Reflecting on the last almost 6 years of my life that have mainly been spent in Provo there are definitely some things I will miss, and definitely some thing I will not!

I will miss:
Cafe Rio!!!
Living right under the mountains...gorgeous
BYU Choir every day
Seven Peaks passes
BYU football games (mostly Tim)
Visiting teaching 2 minutes away
All our amazing friends

I will not miss:
Long, freezing and snowy winters
Buying textbooks from the bookstore...ridiculous
University Ave and Center Street
Homework!
Utah news, it drives me crazy
Allens

Life's precious moments...

So this morning I was all ready to go out. I had both kids strapped into their seats-side note-sometimes life begins to feel like an endless loading and unloading of children into car seats! Anyway, we were about the leave when I get a whiff of something bad...turns out both of my children had pooped. So I unload both of them and start all over again. This got me to thinking...a lot of times in life there are things that happen, like today, and you have two choices: get mad or laugh. Here's a few examples:
When you get to the checkout and realize you've forgotten your wallet. When you put the baby down after finally getting him to sleep and 2 minutes later he's crying. When you think you've come into some money and then realize a check just hasn't cleared. When you buy something full price because you HAD to have it and then it's on sale the next day. When you get home from the supermarket and realize you left a bag. When your computer crashes and you hadn't saved the essay that was almost finished. When you shut the car door just as you realize the keys are still inside. When you are just about to fall asleep and you hear that little cry. When you wake up thinking its Saturday and realize its Friday...
I guess what I'm saying is next time it happens, try to laugh, it won't seem as bad!

A word to moms

I read something tonight that fueled the idea for my next blog. A mum on facebook was asking for advice about weaning her 6 month old. Loads of friends gave a bunch of different words of advice and encouragement. One ruffled my feathers a little. It was along the lines of: "I fed my child a variety of foods since they were young so now they love to eat all their fruits and vegetables." That's great I thought....for you. So for those of us who find it difficult to get their 2 year old to consume anything remotely green, we feel like failures. Which got me to thinking, everyone is always going on about the "correct" way of doing things. No more than two hours of TV, make sure they eat this many foods from this many food groups, if you don't breastfeed for 6 months there's something wrong with you, your child is two and he doesn't know his ABC's??, your 3 year old is still not potty trained, that child is really too old to have a dummy/pacifier, oh and my personal favourite: if you had an epidural you didn't really suffer during labour.

There's some really strict rules like: no cows milk until 12 months. So does that mean if you give your child who is 11 months and 29 days milk he will be sick, but somehow a day later he'll be fine???

When we achieve something we feel great, but if somehow we fall a little bit short we punish ourselves, too much. Honestly some days it is just about survival, getting through that day, and then I'll get to the next one. We put too much pressure on ourselves to have the perfect scrapbook, to be the perfect parent who never raises their voice. It's unrealistic to expect your two year old to stop doing something right away the first time you tell them no, it's going to take a few tries. It's not realistic to imagine that we can live up to the world's really high standard of what the "perfect child" should be like. So mom, go get a pedicure and give yourself some credit...you are doing an amazing job.