Sometimes Kids Do Listen

Well, a couple months ago I posted about how difficult it was for me to convince Cory to do reverent, quiet activities on Sunday and how we've been teaching all our kids about how to keep the Sabbath Day holy. Hailey has been setting a very good example and telling Cory good things we can do on Sunday that will make Jesus happy and how we shouldn't play with our friends outside. It's been really cute to listen to her "preach" to him.

Anyway, so about 3 or 4 weeks ago, his friend came knocking at our door (even though we've told her in the past we don't play with friends on Sunday--I think she keeps "forgetting.") And I was in the kitchen getting lunch cleaned up and I heard Cory say, "I can't play on Sunday, but I can play on Monday!" And then he shut the door. I came out with my jaw dropped. I asked him what he just said and he told me and I just went up and gave him a hug and told him how proud I was of him for making that decision. I didn't make a big deal of it. I didn't even mention it again after that. (When you praise Cory too much or make a big deal with him, it seems to backfire.) So ever since then, he has stayed inside on Sundays. If he goes outside at all on Sundays(which is very tempting living here and how it's still been in the low 70's all summer), it's because he asked if we could go on a family walk or sit outside or something of that sort. Which we do, of course.
So I figured this would be a one-time thing, but pretty much every Sunday for the last month, he's been not playing with his friend outside. Before, when he would sneak outside to play, we wouldn't yell at him or punish him, we would just ask him if what he was doing would make Jesus happy and leave it at that.

I guess setting a good example, giving constant love, and consistent gentle reminders and lessons actually works!

Mothers Day Pictures

I finally have a kid with curly hair!



Sophie was not cooperating for these pictures. She kept running away.

Hailey and Cory were cooperating just great.

Sophie was happy at first.

Then....not so happy.

Happy again, but running away.

The Workplace vs. The Home

I have been working part-time now for 2 months. I really enjoy it. I get projects done, I'm learning new things, I'm remembering computer skills that I haven't dealt with for over 6 years. It's a very good company I work for, with a beautiful work setting and buildings. Anyway, it's all good.

I'm always amazed how happy people are every single Friday. It's a "Happy Friday!" here and a "Thanks goodness it's Friday!" there, etc, etc. They say things like, "This week's been exhausting, I can't wait to get some sleep!" Or, I'm so glad I can just relax this weekend or go to this restaurant or see this movie or go to this show or whatever it may be.

Well, a huge part of this may be the fact that I only work 25 hours a week, not 40 like everyone else here. BUT I don't look forward to the weekend NEARLY as much as everyone else, it seems. First of all, the term "sleeping in" whether it's on a weekend or not, left my vocabulary on Nov. 24, 2003 when Cory was born. And things like "getting away" and "having a fun night out" pretty much left my vocabulary as soon as we moved to San Diego where we don't have family to babysit our kids so we can go on dates. The going rates for babysitters (if you have 3 kids) is $12/hour here. Okay, so we've been out ONCE in 4 months.

Also, what exactly is relaxing about a weekend anyway? Is it our plan to purchase, cut, and hang 5 window blinds tomorrow? Or the fact that we're planning on making homemade pizza to feed the missionaries tomorrow night? And cleaning our whole house?

Or no, maybe it's Sunday, where we get to sleep in until 7am (during the week I wake up at 5:30 on the days I go running, 6:30 on the days I don't go running), frantically get 3 tired kids out the door for 9 am church, after preparing my primary lesson late Saturday night and gathering all my materials, object lessons, and treats for my 8-9 year-olds that I teach. Then attending choir on Sunday afternoon, only to be followed by trying to entertain my children by doing activities in the Friend, singing songs, playing games, reading books, and providing endless hours of stimulating, yet reverent Sunday entertainment in order to keep the Sabbath Day holy and try to keep them from wanting to play soccer outside with the neighbor kid. (Which lately, btw, I have been failing miserably at.) Why is it so physically (not spiritually or emotionally), but PHYSICALLY exhausting trying to get your kids to keep the Sabbath day holy?

Maybe because Cory's idea of a "regular day" is going to Sea World, the beach, the pool, or going to the park and playing soccer with mom for an hour, followed by a rousing kite-flying session with Hailey, followed by an exploration/walk with Sophie around our neighborhood, followed by playing with them outside until 7pm. So Cory's idea of a "down" day is maybe taking out one of those activities. He is so incredibly active and has so much energy that Sundays are SUCH a struggle. He actually does really well (now that he's 6) to sit still and make it through 3 hours of church. Mostly because his best friend, Spencer, is in his class. But after those 3 hours, he can barely sit down to eat lunch much less be expected to reverantly watch a movie (HA!) or quietly play games or read or do other appropriate Sunday activities. Seriously, am I expecting too much from him? Do I wait until he's almost baptized to really start stressing the importance of the Sabbath Day? See, I don't think I should wait, because children can learn when they're very young, but there is a reason they get baptized when they're 8, and not 6.

SO back to my point. What is more draining--emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Being at work where I get PAID, recognized for good work, and get to engage in competent, adult conversation? Or being a mother in the home, attempting to provide an emotionally, spiritually, physically-enriching environment, while at the same time providing healthy meals with lots of variety, a clean living environment, (which includes spraying Lysol on my kitchen tile counters 3 times a day to keep the darn fruit flies away-gross! We keep our doors open pretty much all the time here) and providing intellectually-stimulating lessons--all while engaging in a regular exercise regime, paying the bills, clipping coupons, dealing with occasional sick kids, teething babies, and nightly homework. Well, all I can say, is at least I love my children and Sophie is so dang funny (and adorable with her leg rolls), because that job is not paid. Well, at least not temporally paid anyway.

I do love my kids and being a mother, I'm just saying if people here can say "Happy Friday", then I think on Mondays I'm going to start saying "Happy Monday!"

Easter

Cory looking for Easter eggs around the house.



Sophie on Easter morning.



Hailey looking for eggs.




Don't you love Hailey's Diego pajamas? She is so girly and everything has to be pink or purple--except when it comes to wearing Cory's old pajamas. She loves these.




Cory at the nearby rec center's Easter Egg hunt on Saturday morning.

Sophie really understood that she needed to pick up those eggs! The kids had been having mock Easter egg hunts at our house all week, so she had good practice!

This is the kids before the egg hunt. (Hence the not too happy faces.)

March Fun

This is at the Mormon Battalion Museum in Old Town San Diego. I (Karen) was at work when the rest of them went there. My parents came to visit for my dad's 70th birthday. My sister, Annette, came too with her 3 boys. (Her husband, Frank, is deployed in Afghanistan right now and so she's living with my parents in AZ.)


This is Hailey's very excited face about seeing the walrus at Sea World.




Sophie still likes to get the sand a little too close to her mouth. This is at La Jolla Shores beach. March 17, 2009




Cory and his cousin, Caleb Bigelow at the beach.




These dolphins were out in the water. We had never seen them in the wild like this before. It was pretty neat.

All of us that went to Sea World. Yes, even Grandpa went down this water roller coaster ride with us called "Journey to Atlantis." Annette and Caleb were in the front seat, so they got pretty soaked! Grandma stayed behind with 4 children under the age of 3. I'd say she's the brave one!

Sophie (13 mos.) just chillin in a big 'ole rocking chair.

Karen's New Job

Well, this is something I didn't ever think I would be writing about at this stage of my life! A couple of weeks ago, we still didn't have a job, and I was starting to freak out. (Trent wasn't so much--I am much more paranoid and get more worked up about things in life than he does. He really does balance me out!)
I had the thought to just update my resume and write a cover letter and just check out Craigs List to see what was there. Before I had Cory, and after I graduated from BYU, I worked as a full-time secretary in one of BYU's Advisement Center offices. Before that, I had been a receptionist and held a variety of office jobs. So I thought--why don't I just check things out and see what happens?

So I applied to several jobs on Wed., Feb. 17. The next morning I got a call from one of them. Actually, it was a recruiter for their company. The company is called Gen-Probe--about 20 minutes away from us. They are a biotech company that produces and manufactures nuclic-acid test kits and several other tests that have early and more accurate detection of human diseases. Ironically enough, Trent had applied to them once or twice since we've moved here. (But didn't get any because of lack of experience.)

After the inital phone screening interview (for the receptionist position), they called me the same day to set up a face-to-face interview. I went in the next week, and a few days later, they called me with a job offer asking when I could start. I started on my birthday, Monday, March 1. They are paying $6 more per hour than any other receptionist job I saw here-and twice my hourly wage at my last job 6 years ago. So it's good!

Things are going so well. I really like what I'm doing. The company is great--voted one of the best places to work in San Diego. And they are one of the most successfull and fast-growing biotech companies in the area. I only work part-time--it's 7:30-12:30, so I'm only gone in the mornings. Trent gets Cory ready for school and then has the girls in the mornings. He's even taken them grocery shopping, went to their first doctor's appointment since moving here (so LOTS of paperwork to fill out!) and Hailey's speech therapy meeting on Friday. He's been so positive and helpful and wonderful since I started working! I don't like calling him Mr. Mom (plus he is only by himself with them in the mornings--and he still is going to school AND looking for a job still) because he's not Mr. Mom. I mean, what does that make me? Mrs. Dad? He's our children's FATHER and he's extrememly capable of feeding them, cleaning up after them, doing our laundry, running to the store, taking them to appointments, etc. Just because he might be home with them more, doesn't mean he's a mom. It means he's a really great dad who pitches in when the family as a whole needs something.

Sophie has definitely formed a special bond with him this week (as if our girls weren't already daddy's little girls). She will bring him book after book and plop herself down on top of him and scream and grunt if he doesn't immediately start reading books to her.

SO my first week of work went really well. It's so refreshing having something else to do during the day rather than straightening, cleaning, cooking, and changing diapers. And I still get to do those rewarding and important things all afternoon and evening! Trent is still applying to jobs--in fact he has a very promising second interview early this next week. So if he gets it--then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Our very good LDS friends that live just around the corner from us have their own in-home daycare. I've spent many hours in their house observing their daycare and how things are ran (mostly because Hailey and Cory LOVE to play over there--so I just go to hang out and bring Sophie too, and it's like a big party.) They are great with kids and you can really tell they love children. They've been doing it for the last 2-3 years since her husband got laid off doing construction work. Anyway, I casually mentioned to them last week that if Trent finds a job soon we may need to find somewhere for Hailey and Sophie to go for a few hours in the morning. They said they should be able to take them, and they've actually been hoping for a couple more kids lately to help make ends meet. Chad (the dad) takes Sophie sometimes at church for us and she goes to him so well. I would have no qualms at all about leaving the girls with them for half a day. I mean, this isn't a permanent thing with me (working part-time). Once Trent does find a job and once we get our credit card debt paid off, I'll want to return to the home full-time. I mean, Sophie still is my little baby (even though she's one) and I really have started to miss her in the mornings, even though it's only been a week!

We'll see what the Lord has in store for us. But I really love being able to step outside for half my day. It makes me really cherish my kids more--I'm happier when I am around them--and I gladly want to play with them and go outside with them--instead of just doing it so they'll stop begging me.

So that's it for now! I would love to hear feedback from moms who have worked either part-time or full-time outside the home and how they felt about it.

Torrey Pines and Sophie's 1st Birthday

I had a lot more beautiful pictures to add, but blogger isn't letting me. So I'll have to post more later. Here is us on Saturday at Torrey Pines State Preserve in San Diego. We hiked about a mile and a half to the cliff. (Trent pretty much carried Sophie the whole way.) It was so beautiful. Then we went down to the bottom and the kids got to play in the water, too.

Our sweet Sophie--just too tired to eat.

Our little Sophie turned one on Feb. 8. I can't believe all that has happened in the past year

and that she is already 1! It just went by WAY too fast. She's walking now, we're teaching her baby sign language, and she is picking up a few signs already. (Her favorite is "all gone").

We love her so much and her favorite thing to do (other than LIVE outside) is when Cory chases her and plays with her all over the house. She squeals and giggles with delight.

She literally started walking the day before she turned 1. She loved the little

dolly stroller we got her. She walks all around with it now!

Here she is with some cake.

Sophie's first birthday!

Opening her cards with some help from daddy.