Messes be gone!

A few weeks ago I read a blog post where the writer talked about getting rid of 40 garbage bags full of stuff for Lent.  They would finish their goal on Good Friday.  I liked that idea and wanted to follow suit...

And then yesterday, we watched a part of the documentary The Queen of Versailles on Netflix. (I linked to the IMDb page to give you a synopsis.) Basically, it's a riches to rags story.  And it's crazy, b/c the couple starring in the film had so much money and STUFF that it was disgusting.  So many pets too, all over, pooping everywhere, eating food left on the coffee table, over the top parties... it was all SO gross to watch.  I only could stomach watching for about 25-30 minutes.  Aaron had been watching it a little longer than I had.  Anyway, after turning it off, we had that same feeling you have after watching Hoarders (or in my case, an episode preview for Hoarders, I can't bring myself to watching a real episode b/c my stomach is weak).  Aaron and I now have the hankering to go through the house and chuck everything!  In fact last night, we got started on all the random mail and paperwork sitting around the house, filed the important ones, and chucked the rest!  So cathartic.

I found this on pinterest tonight. So funny.

In light of these few experiences, you can see why I lost my patience this afternoon.  Our house has been a total disaster.  In our defense, Aaron was gone a few days last week for his grandma's funeral (more on that later) and ALL three kids have been sick.   Sometimes do you feel like you are living in survival mode?  Why? Cal had mycoplasma pneumonia and both Tillie and Benny caught some cold bug and have needed extra attention, so I've eased up on the whole "cleaning up messes promptly" concept. Also, Cal has a new fascination with cutting up paper into a million pieces, and Tillie likes to dump out ALL of the crayons/pencils/markers when she colors (and if there's not an open spot on the table, she just goes to the floor), we've gone through boxes of tissues, there have been pillows, blankets, and toys everywhere... you get the idea.

So today, I became a crazy mom.  I said, "That's it! I"m grabbing the vacuum.  Anything that is on this floor will be vacuumed.  If you don't want your stuff sucked up, you'd better grab it now!"  Of course they both started panicking and sobbing, but that didn't deter me.  I was over the messes.  Mom fail.

Who knew that such a threat would light such a fire under their rear-ends?!  They cleaned up in RECORD time!  And they did a great job!  

After our little crisis, we took a moment and I hugged and congratulated them on their fast efforts.  I then asked, "Do you like living in a pigsty?  Do you like tripping over your toys and crayons?  Do you like having stickers stick to your feet?  Do you like it when mom is a crazy mama?" 

They said no.  

Then Tillie said, "It's not fun when you are a bad mom."  

I quickly reminded her that actually I was being a GOOD mom by having us clean our house (but probably didn't need to flip out like I had), because if we didn't clean our house then rotten ants and bugs would come into our house, and even rats might come and it would be disgusting, and we'd all cry.

Tillie quickly responded, "But Cinderella has rats..."  

Perfect.

Thank you, Disney.

We were ready for a break and luckily, the weather was PERFECT. 75 degrees in our backyard.  We played in the backyard the rest of the afternoon.  Thank you, Texas Spring.  Here are some pics we took:

This 6 month little stinker is doing such a good job on his tummy these days (which he's previously hated!) and is even being able to lift his stomach off the ground and is able to roll and pivot most anywhere.  His favorite direction to travel these days is backwards.

 Tillie is ALWAYS ready for a photo-op!

 yes, even though she is 4.5 years older, he's catching up! Look at the size ratio!

 Cal couldn't be bothered with posing for me.  He was too busy painting the bricks and filling up his water bucket in his new soccer duds from Nana and Papa.  

Later tonight, Tillie came out of her room and said, "Mom I need to tell you something."

She then whispered in my ear, "Dad said he's going to take away everything that is good in my life."  

hA!!

I burst out laughing and said, "Uhhh, why don't you talk to your dad about that." 

Dad fail.

Aaron quickly explained that he had made a poor decision in his frustration with the messes today. HA! 

Ahhh, in the end, even though we fail quite often as parents, thankfully our kids see us as a happy family.  Maybe, sometimes, we do things right.

knock, knock?

So, rumor has it that April 1st is the new January 1st.
Am I right? or am I right?

(insert pathetic clapping here)

Resolutions/schmesolutions.

(Why did I include my chicken in a party hat? I don't know. Perhaps, we need to celebrate that I'm really blogging. Plus, adding a chicken is ALWAYS a good idea.  duh!)

Honestly, the reason for my absence is not because I don't believe in blogging anymore.  I do!  I'm a believer!!
It's not because I have three kids now (although, that is PART of the reason).
It's not because my hands don't work properly (although, that has been PART of the reason too---more on that later, obviously).
You wanna know why I haven't blogged for so long?
Wait for it.  Wait for it...

I just uploaded 3,872 pictures to my computer from the camera.

Do you realize how big the number 3,872 is?  That's a lotta blogging, my friends.  That's the number of pictures I've taken since the week before Thanksgiving.  hA!!!

The only reason I finally decided to upload them, is because my phone/camera's memory is full.  So full, in fact, that it wouldn't allow me to take any more pictures!  What!?  Amazing.
And then, as I started uploading them all, our iphoto kept having issues.  Come to find out that our hard drive and our external hard drive with ALL of my photos of our life had been corrupted! It was scary.  A real nail-biter.  But, after the expertise of a professional (plus a few hundred dollars---not doll-hairs), we are back up and running!

So, we'll take it slowly (obviously).  You know that I only run when being chased.

But, in case you thought I was abandoning this ship, I'm certainly not.

You see, I am a forgetful person.  Really, I forget EVERYthing.
You've called me?  I probably forgot to call you back.
You've texted me?  Yep, I probably forgot to respond.
We had an awesome memory together that one day?
Sorry, it's not personal, but I've probably forgotten that too... UNLESS I have a photo to jog my memory!  Truly.
There was a quote I had on my bulletin board in college that said, "Seen it all.  Done it all.  Can't remember most of it."  Perhaps I've shared that quote with you before?  Who knows!  I've forgotten!

Case and point?
As I look at this new 6 month Benson-boy in my arms, I see so much of Tillie!  And, yes, they look so much alike it's uncanny---but! as I was thinking about it, I really don't remember much about Calvin as a baby.  Why?  We were living in CrazyTown!  Tillie was 19 months? 20months?  (Aaron says 20 months, I say 19---when honestly, it felt like they were 5 months apart!).  Really, it's a blur now.  But, when Tillie was a baby, I had ALL the time in the world to study her face and memorize everything about her.  No wonder when I see Benny boy, I see a mini Tillie!

Thank heavens I was sane enough to blog about it all!  I can easily look back to that time in life when Cal was a baby and see exactly how my Calvin looked at 6 months and the milestones he was accomplishing.  I can see records of what we did each day and how we did it and how I felt about it.  Amazing!!  Especially because when I try to recall that information in my brain, it's gone!

So, you see, I blog to remember.
I blog because I love the relationships I'm able to maintain while we live so far away in this little corner of the globe.
I blog because my kids are freaking darling (my mom is going to ground me for using the word "freaking"---whoopsie daisy!) and they need to be seen.  I mean, look at those photos above!
I blog because it's a tangible record of our daily lives---and heaven knows, I need tangible evidence that we are moving forward and not just living in a mess!
I blog because it's validating.
I blog because it's a time for me to reflect on where we are RIGHT this minute, and where we've been.
I blog because it makes me happy.

There you have it.  I'll be bouncin' in from time to time.  Because we have so much to catch up on! (for example, where did our newborn go?, Tillie is almost five, Cal is already three and completely potty trained! I've found a new way of eating and lost all the baby weight I gained with Bensey-boy (insert a HUGE woot! woot!), Aaron and I went on a grand excursion with NO kiddos, we had lots of sick children with the horrible flu and ear infections and even pneumonia,  I've been decorating our house and have hung several frames AND curtains (with lots of help, obviously), AND I've just got the strike offs for our new fabric line that is going to be debuted at this upcoming Spring 2013 quilt market (boo yah! finally!).  Whew!

See what I mean?  Lots to talk about!

In the meantime, if you want to be friends on Instagram, my "handle" is melimba.
Let's be forever friends.  Great? Great.
Ta ta for now.

Highs and lows of motherhood

I'm laying next to my (finally) sleeping Tillie here at 3:33am in my parents' house. Aaron has been gone for the past week back to Texas and now Illinois for a work trip, otherwise, he would have been my tag team guy tonight. Thankfully, my mom is here and was my right hand gal.

It started out as a great night. We went to Pizza Factory (who doesn't love their twisty bread on a stick?!) with Lizzy and my parents. Had a good time. The big kids were hyped up, but that was to be expected from a 4.5 and almost 3 years old. Benson was a dream and slept through dinner (but did cry to and from the restaurant. Again to be expected from a 2.5 month old).

Once we got home, my dad wanted to watch a Christmas movie with the kids, so I gave them quick baths before the big movie. Lizzy was super helpful and was trying to get Cal's diaper on while I bathed Benson, but Cal kept messing around and kept kicking her away.

After the movie and I put them to bed.  I was exhausted and they didn't want to go to bed. After about an hour of back and forth in and out of my bedroom and theirs, I was feeling irritated. Unfortunately it took me over an hour to realize that Cal just needed to be held and loved. Luckily, my mom figured that part out sooner than I did and had asked if she could go rock Calvin in the rocking chair.

Eventually, I took him and laid in bed with him. He held my arm tight with both hands so i wouldn't leave.

A little while later, Tillie started throwing up several times and then had diarrhea... she held on to me so tight too.

I hated seeing her pale face and little hands shake and not know what was happening to her little body. It was heart breaking.

Then Cal woke up with a major leg ache. I think it is growing pains. Poor boy was sobbing and wanted me to hold him. He wouldn't release his grip from my arms to wipe Tillie's bottom. Ha! That part was fun.

I'm not writing this to have sympathy. I'm writing to back up my theory that EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE HELD & LOVED SOMETIMES. Whether we're hurting physically (like Tillie was) or struggling emotionally (like Cal was earlier in the night).

Maybe that's why I enjoy coming back home to Utah, bc I see people who love me. People who really know me. People who have a history with me. I see people who don't just know the late-20-something version of myself, but they knew me as a kid, others knew me as a teenager, others as a college student, some I see knew me as all of these.

And seeing these people, even though I'm not physically touching them most of the time (hey, I've never been a big hugger), they are "holding and loving" me by their concern, their questions, and their validation. Does that make any sense at all?

I've always loved the book Fanny's Dream about a farm girl who was waiting in her dad's field for her fairy godmother to appear and take her to the ball to meet the governor. The fairy godmother never showed up, but a sweet farmer man named Heber did (i've always liked that name bc my grandpa was Elmer Heber Johnson). Anyway, Heber asks Fanny to marry him, she reluctantly agreed and said, "i don't do windows..." Anyway, life moves forward and years later, crazy events like their house burning down, and a few kids later, the fairy godmother finally shows up out of the blue and tells Fanny she can go to the ball, but Fanny declines bc she's so content with the life she has now.

It's ironic, bc currently Aaron is in Illinois doing CE workshop and also had a big "formal attire" work party. We had talked about me joining him, but the timing and logistics of it all didn't make sense for me to go. I won't lie, the idea of dressing up in "formal attire" sounded exciting, especially when I think about my life these past few months consisting of no showers and spit up from a certain baby all over my clothes.

But, as I saw Aaron's pictures he texted to me from the big event, I was glad that I was there with my kids on this crazy night. (Oh, and trust me, Aaron is no partier and definitely would have chosen to be here with us too). I like to think they needed me and I was happy to be there with them.

So, moral of the story: I'm like Fanny (and it turns out that I have a large fanny (double ironic!)).
Also, I'm now a psychologist that has determined that EVERYone needs to be held and loved on occasion. Truth! So, in this season of giving, might I suggest that we look to find those who might be needing a little extra love and find out how we might best fufill that need. I, for one, plan on holding my kids more often... Especially Tilli and Cal. It's funny, bc babies require you to hold them often to calm them down when they are fussy. Big kids and I'll venture to say that adults are probably the same way. They/we just "fuss" in a different way.

So, there you have it. Life according to Melissa. You get what you pay for.
Good night.

A note about this here blog.

In college, I was in the art program. One time, a well known woman artist (whom I really admired, and still do) came to visit. She lectured and then was able to give critiques of students' portfolios if you signed up. I was excited/nervous to hear what she'd think of my work and the day came that it finally happened.
I pulled out my notes to read what she said about my work: "You're work is superficial. All of this is just 'nice'. Demand honesty. No sugar coating. Dig deeper inside yourself... even if it's not pretty and pink. Don't be afraid to make your work ugly."

Wow.  Thank you?

In the years since, I've realized that the work I enjoy creating IS pretty (and I'm not afraid to use pink either!). I subscribe to artist Henri Matisse's theory: "What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter."  He also said, "In my paintings, I wish to create a spiritual remedy, similar to a comfortable armchair which provides rest..."

matisse image via

I like making beautiful and happy things.  In my opinion, there is enough hard, ugly, and scary things in life, that I don't want to focus on or "celebrate" that.

So, it's no wonder that this theory spills over into my blog/writing. Perhaps people who come to this corner of mine, in the world wide web, think this life we lead is perfect. Let me assure you, it's not.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this: I like to talk about the happy things that happen around here. This blog of mine celebrates the successes that go on this home.  Do I bake things all the time or have delicious home cooked meals often? Heck, no! But when I do, you KNOW I'm gonna take a picture to celebrate the occasion. Speaking of pictures, when I take photos of my kids/life, I like to scoot the messes to the side so I can zoom in on the happy subject. (Metaphorically and physically).  I've decided it's not very fun to take pictures of my sink full of dishes, or the diapers that pile up next to the door (that was for you, Em.  I know how much you love that), or when my kids are sobbing.  Call me crazy, but that just doesn't sound very appealing.

I get it.  Life isn't always "appealing".  I know that. Duh!  If you think it's dishonest for me to sweep aside the messes so I can zoom in on the happy kid, that's fine.  If you think it's superficial for me to not go in depth about different dramas that occur around these parts, then okay, I'm superficial. 

So, there you have it.  I am messy.  I am a worry-wort.  I am impatient.  I love to sleep (a lot). I am overweight.  I lose my temper.  I procrastinate.  I'm not perfect.  We have challenges.  Our marriage isn't perfect.  My kids aren't perfect.  But, as corn-dog as it sounds, this life is perfect for me.

This blog right here is my happy place.  So, in case you were wondering, that's how we roll around these parts.

Anyway, thanks for being my friend.
The end.

Game Time... Benson makes his debut!

Well, it's high time we make some introductions to the newest member of our Wood clan. 

He came to us, just as scheduled, on the morning of September 5, 2012.  We woke up bright and early that morning because we were supposed to arrive at the hospital at 5:30.  I set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. so I could get in a nice shower, blow dry my hair, and emotionally prepare for what was to happen that day.  Even though it was really early, I was glad to have almost a whole hour to myself... I had the feeling that it would be a while until I had an entire hour to indulge in such a thing (for the record, I was right!).

I knew Aaron had set his alarm the night before, but around 5:00a.m. I hadn't heard him stirring, so I said, "Hon, I think you should start waking up, we need to be leaving in the car in 20 minutes."  He grumbled something to the effect of "Yeah, I'm coming," and I continued applying my make up. A few minutes passed and I realized we needed to be in the car in 5 minutes and I still hadn't seen Aaron.  This time I frantically said, "Aaron, we need to go!  Were you planning on showering??" He woke up with a start and said, "yes! I'm going now!" I told him he didn't have enough time, he kept saying, "It will only take me ONE minute. I promise. One minute to shower!" Well, he took 1 minute and 30 seconds, but that was pretty impressive. 

We quickly took a picture of ourselves before we literally RAN out the door (my mom bidding us farewell as we flew past her room).  Yes, the photo is blurry, but we were in a hurry!  Too bad Aaron's arm. blocking the FULL term expansiveness of my belly... we weren't really thinking about details like that.  Notice our sleepy eyes.  hA!

This is the first time we walked into the hospital's lobby.  

It was a BRAND new hospital (literally, it had opened it's doors two months earlier) and it was located just minutes from our house.  All of this made it pretty SLICK for us!  

We walked in, did some paperwork (so weird to pay for a baby to be born with a credit card!), and took the elevators up to the labor and delivery wing.  The nurses moved quickly getting all my IV's in me and prepping me for surgery. They asked if we had a name picked out... and for the first time WE DID!  It was all decided ahead of time, and I have to admit, it was SO nice having made the decision in advance!

Then, they had Aaron suit up.  Looking good.

Then, since I was feeling fine, we walked on over to the O.R. where I hopped right up on the operating table.  hA!  Surreal.  Like the anesthesiologist told me during Calvin's scheduled birth, "scheduled c-sections are such a civilized way to have a baby!" hA!  Amen, sister.  Amen.  

Aaron took a picture like this right before Tillie's birth and Calvin's birth. 

Here we are as the doctors were doing their thang.  All was peachy and we were all smiles.

They told me, 17 minutes after they opened me up, that we had a beautiful baby boy!  I heard him crying such a great strong cry and started getting teary and feeling so grateful (for weeks I'd been worrying that something was wrong with our baby---Aaron was feeling pretty nervous too).

Next thing I knew, I started panicking and getting really anxious. I couldn't breathe very well and I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck.  It was awful and I didn't know what was going on.  The anesthesiologist was just starting to take a few "happy" pictures of us, when she got this picture---me flipping out.

 Aaron got these next two pictures of me right as I started my melt down.  Love that we have this all recorded... sheesh!

The anesthesiologist and assistant were right there trying to figure out what was going on with me and kept trying to calm me down and assuring me that all the machines looked normal and fine but I was freaking out.  With the tight pain in my neck I was worried that I was paralyzed, or that maybe I was dying.  Truly, I thought I was dying.  It was crazy.  They asked if I wanted Versed to help calm me down, and warned me that I might not remember anything---Aaron and I told them we didn't care.  It was all so scary. After we gave them the green light, within seconds the back of my neck stopped throbbing and I was able to take deep breaths again and relax.

So crazy.

Let's give THREE cheers for modern technology! I love a good medicine.  :)  Let it be known that the Versed didn't erase my memory, but it did make me ITCH like crazy (well, that and whatever else I was pumped up with).  Hours/days later, I wanted to scratch my face off (really, it was horrible), but eventually it all wore down and out of my system.

Luckily, Aaron and I were able to refocus our attention on the MAN of the HOUR!

Check out this little guy!  

post freak-out, we're all feeling much better.

Benson was ready for his close up and even looked at the camera.  Nice!

So, let's formally introduce this darling baby boy who weighed in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. and 21.25" long...

Benson Elmer Wood

(more on his name in a later post)

What a sweet baby boy!  After they wheeled us into the recovery room, baby Benson started nursing right away!  A perfect latch and everything. Amazing that he just knew what to do!  I'm happy to report that the rest of our hospital stay was COMPLETELY uneventful and happily low-key!  HOOOORAY!

Bring on the siblings!

love Cal's face here.  I don't know if I've ever seen this lip/smile situation. hA!

in case you were curious, Calvin is a little over 2.5 years older than Benson.  

I love how sweet Calvin is.

and sweet Tillie... she was THRILLED out of her little mind to FINALLY meet her baby brother.  Is she a sweet girl or what?  Did I mention that this day was her first day of preschool too??  Sheesh. SO OLD!!  I love her little outfit she picked out.

And lucky for us, Auntie Becca took a half day at work to head up and meet this special delivery.  

here I was video recording it all on my phone.

I love this next shot of my mom, Tillie, and Becca meeting Benson.

giving Benson kisses for the first time

First sponge bath

There's not much more explaining to do, so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves and chime in from time to time.

have I mentioned how much I LOOOOVE hospital food.  It's always a safe bet when you go with breakfast items---for every meal.  Delish. 

some of the many faces of baby benson on DAY ONE of his life.  amazing ALL the expressions he was capable of!!

wakey, wakey, eggs and bac-ey

check out that head of hair! woot woot!

so so tiny next to my swollen hand.

I'm in love with these pictures with my mom.

Couldn't be any happier.

Wood. Party of Five.

helping Cal with some of my jello (no, I didn't eat ALL of that food at once).

I love these next ones of my BOYS.  They are especially great of Cal.  First stage: Denial.

2nd Stage: Curiosity.

Third stage: Acceptance.  hA!  Don't ask me what those stages are, I just made them up.  But, didn't I sound like a psychologist or something?  Yes, I know.  

Auntie Becca came up again from her corporate fancy job... looking so smashing!

oh, that face!

my awesome view at the hotel. I mean, hospital!

Pretty fun to have a baby fill up this little onesie.

And, yes, he looks REALLY long in this next picture.

It was heaven for those few days in the hospital, just soaking up our sweet, sweet baby.  He's been a dream boat from day one and we can't even believe how lucky we are to have our dolly Baby Benson Elmer with us.
Oh! I want to remember that our last nurse was AWESOME!!  She HOOKED us up!  Check out my pack mule down below.

She gave us several packs of diapers and bottles, two of the awesome water cups with handles, but the BEST gift of all was a "binder" she gave me.  Have you ever heard of these?  It's like a huge Ace Bandage that you pull really tight like a girdle around your post-pardum belly, and hello, it changed my life.  Seriously.  After a c-section, your incision feels like it's going to burst open with every sneeze, every laugh, every time you twist and turn, and try to stand up---but with this "binder" as she called it, it gave me SO much support and rocked my world.  WHY HAD I NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING???  Have you heard of them before?  Honestly, if you know of anyone having a c-section, feel free to let them in on the secret like she did for me.

Oh, and the hospital gave me a new fancy robe and slippers AND sent us home with a pre-made lasagna, breadsticks, and salad.  Hello.  Now you know why we enjoyed our stay so much at the hotel hospital.

Well, actually, this little one was actually the best part.  Hooray for baby Benson and his safe arrival to us.

(if you were wanting to re-live Matlida's birth, like I did, go here and see pictures here.

and for Calvin's birth, go here. )