Reading Time

I bought some new books for the boys.

But shhhhh, they don't know yet.

So what do you do with brand new books that haven't been handled 500 times by little grimy hands??? Read them of course!

It was a treat. We even got to open the flaps for the first time in one book. Ahh... everyone should be able to experience the quiet little crack that comes with opening a new flap. 

And then we giggled and giggled at this book by Sandra Boynton. 

Oh how we love Sandra Boynton at our house.

We won't spoil the ending for you. Let's just say it's worth the read.

Now I just can't wait to show them to the boys!

Shirt and Tie

Sunday is probably my favorite day of the week.

It's the one day Jesse is {nearly} guaranteed to be home and I just love having everyone together.

Plus Jesse and I laugh together at the funny things our boys do and we love talking about how cute and funny they are.

This Sunday was no exception.

When I walked out of Primary to find Jesse and Briggs, I almost fell over from the cuteness that is my son. 

There's Briggs, completely asleep in the church foyer, with his pillow.

And of course his tie up in his face. 

I'm fairly certain I haven't seen too many things that top this.

So of course I had to take a few extra pictures when we got home, because once again, they're just too cute!

The too big shirts with shorts, and sometimes a tie look just makes me weak in the knees.

{B}                   {I}

{I}

He just does not leave his ties on. We'll have to work on that. 

Good thing he's still absolutely adorable.

{B}

Oh, I just love that shirt tail! 

{B}

That crooked little tie, yum.

And the pillow is a nice touch. 

It does come in handy for those moments when you just need to lay down and snuggle. 

We were lucky enough this Sunday to feed the missionaries and we sure had fun with them.

They were very complimentary of my easy (yet delicious) crockpot concoction.

And they went wild over the homemade oreos I just HAD to make. 

{Jesse kept asking me why I was making these oreos and I just told him that they sounded so good and I needed to make them for the Elders. He kept telling me that we already had a store bought cake just sitting in our fridge so we didn't need oreos.... But when they cheered over how awesome homemade oreos are and how much they love them, I knew it must have been inspiration!} 

The kiddos of course were hams and showed off funny tricks and made us all laugh.

And we even got an amazing piano performance by Elder Carey with the reminder to share our talents.

Another perfect day.

Little Toe Problems

Ian has some little toe problems. Poor kid. Can't keep those little guys in for anything.

Friday Night Date

Tonight was a typical family date night.

We went out to eat at the ever classy Taco Bell/KFC franchise near us.

We laughed when Briggs got this cheerio stuck to his chin. 

We introduced the boys to cinnamon twists, which they loved. 

It's hard to see it here, but Briggs had a cinnamon beard that was to die for. 

 We talked them into doing some kissy lips.

Which of course was even cuter with cinnamon lips. 

And then we followed it up with an evening in the park. 

The boys LOVE the swings. They often beg to be put back in if I take them out before they're ready. 

It was truly perfect.

I just love this little family of mine.

Finger Paint

On a whim I decided it would be fun to finger paint. 

Luckily we had some finger paint left over from when we painted my big ol' belly here.

The boys loved it.

{B}

{I}

{B}                        {I}

{I}

After Ian painted his cute little picture, he thought it would be more fun to rip it up.

{B}

{The final masterpieces}

{This is Ian's ripped up final product.}

{Briggs started to destroy his as well but I saved it.}

We had a lot of fun! 

I see more finger paint in our future.

Just a day

Just an Elmo snuggling, shoe wearing, laundry helping, cute lookin' day.

{I}

{I} 

{B}

{B}

{B}

{I}            {B}

{I}

{I} 

{I} 

{I}

{I}

{B}      {I}

{B}           {I}

{I} 

{B} 

Well and maybe a little cryin' in there too... 

{B}                 {I}  

{B}                      {I} 

{B}                              {I} 

In A Rut

I feel like I'm in a rut lately. I'm at a loss of words and don't even know how to describe my feelings. So I'm sure this will turn into some sort of rant. I'll apologize now.

I can't seem to find creative things to blog about. Perhaps that's directly related to not doing creative things in our life. I feel like I do pretty well as a mom of twins but we're in a safe bubble inside our house. It's hard to go out and do things with two very active toddlers by myself. Especially now that the heat is setting in and a lot of activities are water based which only stresses me out entirely. It's just easier to stay home. But sometimes I get lonely.

I used to consider myself a social person and someone who was able to make friends pretty easily and was always up for anything. Lately though, I feel isolated. Most likely self-induced, but isolated none-the-less. I feel like I lack deep meaningful relationships with people. I don't even get superficial conversations at church now that I have a calling in the Primary {which I do love so I hate to complain about that}. Plus we can't seem to even hear a word spoken in church or stay in a classroom any more anyway so it's more just surviving church than anything else right now. {Only 3 1/2 more months until nursery and you better believe we are counting down!}

My boys have been particularly challenging for me the last week or so while they climb all over our house, have been increasingly fussy (awful ones anyone?), beg to be held at all the busiest moments, are learning to steal toys as well as knock the other one down, and seem just plain disobedient. I thought even though I have no friends, I was at least a good mom, but I've started to question even that these days! Motherhood is tough! I thought I wanted a whole house full of children but my patience is being tried and my smile is wearing thin with just the two hooligans I have.

Thankfully work rolls around once a week and gives me a break in monotony as well as a chance to associate with people. I've even wondered if I need to go back to work more. Am I just plateauing right now and need an additional challenge? Spending time in my patients' rooms and building a relationship, albeit a quick one, is rewarding. It's by far my favorite part of my job. So why do I struggle to do that in my real life? Am I just rude, or judgmental, or unlikable, or look like I'm a grump? I hope not. I don't want to be!

Jesse is by far my best friend. He gets me. He probably understands me better than I could ever understand myself, and he fulfills my social needs a lot of the time. Except for the fact that he works, a lot. And thinks he needs alone time every once in awhile. Alone time. I wonder what that's like? But when I am with him, everything is right in the world. I definitely made a good choice when I married that man.

So I guess the question boils down to, who am I? Do I have an identity anymore? I'm a wife, sure. A mother, most definitely. A nurse, occasionally. A Mormon, yes. Am I anything else?

I want to be a sewer, a DIY-er, a fitness enthusiast, a chef, a friend, someone in tune with others' needs, a master of my scriptures, or a hundred more things. But in actuality, do I need to be ALL those things? What really matters? Am I doing OK with what I'm doing now? Does anyone else ever feel this way? Do you get stuck in a rut occasionally? Do you feel like you are lonely and have no friends, your children consume your time, brain power, and energy, and at the end of the day you're too tired to even care that you don't talk to anyone but your mom anymore? I hope I'm not the only one.

Ok end rant. Honestly, I think just complaining a little bit makes me feel better. Believe it or not, life is not always perfect, but tomorrow is another day.

Brotherly Duet

I was practicing a song before church on Sunday and the boys were begging at my knees to get up and play with me. So I finally traded them spots and when I plopped them on the chair together Ian just wrapped his arm around Briggs and they played together.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't get cuter than this!