Laying Low

We have been laying low lately. These two are sick and contrary to popular belief, it isn't from our rainy Disneyland trip. We were around sick friends at church. Bummer! Brooklyn is snotty. By the way, if you catch a glimpse of her "emmo" undies, she isn't potty trained. She likes wearing them over her diaper for now!
This poor kid fell asleep in the middle of the day and we finally had to wake him up. I hope they recover soon!
As for me, I had a little epiphany. I was looking at a craft from this blog and loved the New Year's resolution plaque.What struck me was the "Be Present" resolution. What I find is that I often get anxious when I am thinking about things in the past I can't change or things in the future I have no control over. Healthy, right? Well, that is why "Be Present" strikes a cord with me. For anyone that has been anxious or is generally a worrier, being worried feels like an almost out of body experience in a way. You are sitting there, but you aren't being there. You are caught up in your thoughts and aren't truly interacting or participating in a genuine way. Perhaps you are feeling a bit fake or like you are putting on a show? Well, I have found peace in being present. When I start to worry, I have to stop and just sit in me and only think about what I am doing at that very moment. Not what I should be doing, not how others do it, not what I need to do, not what I have done, not if it is good or bad, just what I am doing. It brings me back down and as cliche as it sounds, it centers me because I feel like my thoughts and body are together rather than drifting apart. I've heard that I should count my blessings to make myself feel more at ease, but that seems to be counteractive. I feel more blessed than I feel I deserve at times and then I feel guilty. I know I have an overly active conscience. So for me, being present is doing the trick. Besides, we aren't supposed to worry according to Deut. 31:6. Think less of the journey and purpose as a whole and enjoy the adventures along the way, right?

Proof is in the pictures

Here are some shots from Disneyland on Friday. I stole them from Val's blog. This will give you an idea of how wet and empty it was. You won't see many people in the background!

Blah blah blog

Things are happening around here, but I have no pictures to show for it (yet), so the blog is a little blah. Sorry about that, but at at least I have some good stories to share for now!

Lucky for us, Val told us she was coming down for a week, so I quickly contacted Kristyn and convinced her to take a trip down so we could have a little reunion. Oh how I love my old friends! On Thursday night we ALL met for dinner and sat at the Cheesecake Factory for hours and hours chatting and laughing. It was great. All I can say is "squirrel!"

Friday was hilarious. We decided that we were going to Disneyland with the kids rain or shine. When we got there, the rain had just stopped and the clouds were parting. Kristyn and Val were bummed. Yes, I said bummed! They said they wanted it to rain so that they could tell everyone how hardcore they are for taking the kids to Disneyland in the rain. Well, about ten minutes later the heavens opened up and not only did it pour, it hailed! They got their wish! We were soaked and frozen. Poor Brooklyn's teeth were chattering. Trying to get three moms and seven kids moving was so funny. I think we spent more time eating then getting on rides. We did hit our stride though and got on a few rides and lucky for us there wasn't a line for anything. We had so much fun and the kids got along great. It was sad to say goodbye to my great friends, but I had to get my little drown rats home and defrost them in a nice hot bath. Thanks to my fantastic friends for coming down to party!

Rain, rain go away...

...don't come back another day!

Realizations

While walking through Babies R Us:
I'm not out of the baby business yet. I walked through and remembered how little my babies were and how I want to do it just once more. Not soon, but eventually. We definitely need a few years and a little more room.

While checking a YouTube video:
This might just be my costume this year. Too funny and of course I will need to strike the pose!

While spending time with family:
Some people like to give you advice (unwanted, of course) on how to run your life when they have never had any experience in the field. Oh, and I am better at biting my tongue than I thought. For those of you who don't already know, don't EVER EVER pick on someone's kid in anyway what so ever. That is a mama's hot button!

While browsing the internet:
I've found a new best friend on the internet. Who ever writes this blog is a genius! I'm getting out my glue gun, glitter and other crafty crap!

Also while spending time with family:
People live different lives and sometimes that means we don't understand each other's point of view. Just respect it and try to understand.

While doing a home improvement project:
Whatever budget you have in mind for a project...double it...and my ceiling is not Swiss Coffee. I will need a new can of paint.

While watching the news:
Well, a couple things actually. At one point when the news was coming in on Haiti, I made a point to tell Micah that we are very lucky to live where we do, to have food and clean water and cars to take us where we need to go. I want him to realize that he is very blessed and there are people that don't have these things.
Another thing, why is it that God waits until after Christmas to send a natural disaster to impoverished countries? I hope this comes out the right way. Are we being challenged as a people to give more after we are feeling broke from the holidays? Isn't that the true meaning of Christianity?

Male Bonding

Micah is getting to the age where he wants to wrestle around to play. It's definitely a guy thing. He gets all hyped up and wants to crash into things and roll around on the floor. Mommy is not so hot on wrestling around. I can't do it with Brooklyn around and it's too loud when she is sleeping, so it is daddy's job! Chad came home the other night and I could tell Micah had a lot of energy left in him. It was time to rumble! The boys had a blast throwing each other around and it made putting Micah to bed easier. He was tired!

I'm getting old

Seriously, I have noticed that I am getting old. Here is how I know:

*This year in the last year that I could try out for American Idol (not that I would).

*I can see wrinkles forming around my eyes.

*I seriously have NO CLUE what the top songs on the radio are since we only play ABBA or Kids CDs in the car.

*I don't care that I don't know the popular songs.

*I get more excited about a new appliance than I do new clothes.

*I start yawning at parties around 8:30ish.

*I pay attention to how food affects my body. I am going to be "one of those" old people.

*I find teenagers obnoxious and want to chew them out when they are being rude (since that totally works, right?).

*I watch way too much HGTV.

*I'm going to have a kindergartner this year!

*I forget how old I am when people ask. Really, that is a true sign right there!

*I can tell stories of when Ladera Ranch was just a field and Tesoro didn't exist.

*I have a high school reunion this year.

*I laugh at all my husbands jokes!

A little off the top

Yesterday, we took Brooklyn to get her first haircut. I had been tempted several times before this to cut it myself, but lucky for her, I was too scared to do it! Off to First Cuts we went! She wasn't all that happy about the cape they put on her at first, but once she was able to get her hands out and play with some of the toys, she was happy and still enough to get snipped. Here is her before:

During:
After:

Then we decided that since the weather was so beautiful, we would go to the beach. I also thought this would be the perfect opportunity to solve our art problem. We moved the TV and now there is a big open space above our fireplace that needs to be filled. Chad wants a wave of some sort, but if you have seen our house, it just wouldn't go. He wants something that means something to him, so I thought if we went down to Aliso (his spot) and snapped some pictures, we could have a shot or two developed onto a canvas. I would love to be able to find a program where I could turn it into a collage of some sort. If anyone knows of a program like that, let me know!

Catch up in Photos

I've had pictures sitting on my camera that I forgot to post, so here they are!

Naked cowboy, you better watch out! I think this cute kid could take your job!


Yay for me, she is interested in the potty. Maybe we will give it a try soon!


Enjoying a bath. You can't get too many bath pictures!

For those of you that asked for pictures of our new place...it isn't done yet and I would be embarrassed to post pictures unless I titled them all "Before." We have been putting some work into the place and actually just had our drywall finished, so now I have a lot of painting to do...again. Anyways, I will give you a sneak peek of the kids rooms to give you an idea of where we are going and post pictures when we are actually done. Here is Micah's room:


I love Restful. It is a great shade of green. Oh and here is a little of Brooklyn's room:


In case you are wondering. It is called Fountain Spout and I love it!

Getting dirty. Micah said "Look mommy! We are gardeners!"


That is him saying bye to the camera.


How cute is that smile?

Torn

So I have been feeling like the Joovy was getting to be too much for me lately. Micah is getting too big to even want to sit in it, so I sold it and now I am on the hunt for a new single stroller. After staying up late doing some research, I narrowed it down to two strollers. The first is actually by Simmons. Yes, the mattress company. It is getting rave reviews by all its users, it is light weight, compact and runs about $150.

The second one is the City Mini by Baby Jogger. It is also light weight and compact, it has good reviews (not as great as the Simmons), is about $80 more, but can be used to jog with and will hold up to a 50 lb. child. So I went back and forth debating.

Well, I thought about saving the $80 and going with the first until I got an e-mail form one of the girls in my ward. She invited me to be part of their 12 person team in the Ragnar Run. This is a run that goes from Dana Point to Santa Barbara! It is an over night run. Two nights in a row, the runners start at midnight and each have three legs to run. On average it is 5 miles. So in total, I will be running about 15 miles. I decided to go for it, which means I decided to go with the City Mini. It isn't until the end of April, so I can save up for the stroller and work on training at the same time. I was intimidated by it to begin with, but the more I think about it the more pure fear I have. One of the girls was talking about it last night and how one of her friends was running through the middle of Compton in the dark by herself, just crying in fear. Scary! I think I might have to get some mace! I'm rethinking why I would pay money to torture myself in the middle of the night and have my butt kicked...

Anyways, since I am not longer torn about which stroller to choose, I'm now torn as to whether or not I should cut Brooklyn's hair. It is at a strange stage. There are pieces that are totally straight and others that curl at the end. She also has total shaggy dog hair in the front. It grows forward, so if I don't have a clip in it, she can't see and there is nothing worse than a little girl with snot in her bangs. I take that back, there is nothing worse than a little girls bangs that are stuck to her nose with snot! So I thought about cutting it in a bob. My mom is telling me I need to cut her bangs, but I really want them to just grow out. I don't want to have to struggle with her once a month to trim them again and again. So what do you think, should I give her a bob? By "I", I mean should I pay for her to get a bob. I'm pretty handy with a buzzer on Micah, but wouldn't trust my skills on her hair!

Family Pictures

In November we had our family pictures taken by my friend Amy. She got some great shots! I had every intention of sending out a Christmas card this year, but once again, my holiday got too full and that fell by the wayside. Sorry friends, I was thinking of you! Now all you have to do is imagine that you have just opened up a cute card and inside is your favorite picture below and a message that says something like, "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Love, The Trotter Family." Anyways, here they are. Enjoy!


You can check out more of Amy's work at http://www.babyblues-photography.com/index2.php#/home/. Now I have to figure out which ones to print and where to put them in my house. Oh decisions, decisions!

Resolutions

I'm not a big fan of resolutions. Mostly because people set a new standard for themselves that is too high and it just leads you to inevitably fail. For instance, the person that says "I won't eat anymore sweets" goes from having sweets on occasion to cold turkey. Feeling so deprived, the person will give in and once they give in they feel like a failure and then say "screw it." So the person that would occasionally have a sweet is now binge eating ice cream and chocolate. OK, so that was a bit long for my intro, but you get my point. For this reason, I want to make my New Years resolutions much more tangible. For that reason, I think I will be starting all of them with "I will try..." Doing this means I win even if I just try. I know, total cop out, but I will try!

1. I will try to not let a crazy day with the kids frazzle me. I want to refer to those days as "adventurous" and be able to laugh at them.


2. I will try to spend less time on the computer and more time playing on the floor with my kids. They won't remember or care if I chatted with my friends online, but they will remember playing with puzzles, dolls and racing cars.

3. I will try to walk more often. Since I am nearly at a stand still with this one, any effort will be a win for me.


4. I will try not to let chores pile up on me. I don't want my sink piled with dishes or laundry towering up against the wall. I will try to do a little bit at a time as I go.

5. I will try to treat myself to at least one luxury a month. Whether it is a pedicure, a new top or buying myself flowers, I need to do that for myself. I deserve it and I need to take care of myself to take care of others.

6. I will try to be more at ease with imperfection. I don't want my kids to feel like they need to be perfect and I don't need that stress in my life.

7. I will try to clean out and organize our home. I know, after reading the one above, it is counter intuitive. I said I would try! Anyways, I figure if I chose one closet (or even a half) at a time each week, I could have it done soon. I already got Brooklyn's closet done!


8. I will try to be more positive and give the benefit of the doubt. Positivity is infectious. I want to be able to spread a little joy to those around me. You always feel better when you have a positive outlook on things.

9. I will try to shave more often. It's winter, I am falling behind on it. I'm growing my own blanket? Just kidding. Really though, I rarely get enough time in the shower to shave and so I end up with Big Foot legs. Oops!


10. I will try to develop spiritually. I'm now a Sunday school teacher with Chad and I am scared to teach, but I think it will help me to grow and develop a new skill. It will give me not only the opportunity, but the necessity to learn the lessons and study the scriptures.

I think that is all for now. I am sure I could go on and on and on, but those are the first to come to mind, so they must be the most important!