5.15.10: This week...

This week I learned a few important lessons about myself. Ok, really just one: my mood is directly proportional to the amount of sleep I get, how often I get out of the house, and the weather.

Monday, I was planning to run with a friend at 9, but then she decided she'd rather go at 6:30. I said good luck to her and decided to continue with my 9 o'clock plan. But then it poured. Like cats and dogs poured. I was annoyed. But I had to pack the kiddos up (Rex and Reagan)anyway to go to an RS presidency meeting, where Rex got into the nursery bathroom, turned on the sink, showed Reagan to put crackers in the sink, and then proceeded to drink the toilet water. I was annoyed so I took them to MacDonald's to get their energy out and then they both took naps when we got home. Life was not going too well. But I did get out of the house later (alone), as my summer classes started and I had to leave at 4 o'clock. I finally broke down and decided to pay someone to watch Rex and it's working our really well. Rex loves her and gets really excited every time she gets in the car. I don't have to feel guilty or like I owe anybody anything, because I'm paying her. I don't even have to feel guilty about my house not being clean or Greg being a little late home because we're paying her 2.5 times what every body else in the ward pays her--not that we're rich, but seriously people $2 an hour? That's insulting. Having said that, I have to work 1/2 a day watching Reagan (4 hours) to pay the babysitter the 2 hours she watches Rex. Whatever. On a side note, I feel like the amount I pay a babysitter is the amount that I value myself , I'm worth $5 an hour aren't I?

Tuesday I did run and it was fantastic. I also spent the day doing homework and was very proud of myself for getting through some pretty dense and boring readings.

Wednesday looked like it was going to rain so I decided to hold off on the running for a while to see if it would clear up at all. And it did. So I got dressed, got the kiddos dressed and was literally walking out the door when it began to pour. I was more than annoyed. But, by this point in the week, I was beginning to realize how much my mood had to do with the weather so I got out the finger paints and decided to do something fun instead of take my aggression out on innocent toddlers. And it was fun. Rex LOVES painting. He even did a bit of mixed medium this time and added some Sharpie. He's a pretty neat little painter and is pretty good about staying on the page. Many of you will see some hand-painted wrapping paper soon. Reagan, on the other hand, had obviously never painted before. I gave her her paint first and then went to get a plate for Rex. When I came back, Reagan was eating the paint--luckily it was non-toxic. She was a bit messier and showed Rex how to paint his face. Joy. After painting, we made a quick trip to MacDonald's, as I also learned this week that Rex must have at least an hour of jungle gym time a day or I don't get a nap. I had class again on Wednesday and, as usual, am quite enjoying myself and the intellectual stimulation that it brings.

Thursday was wonderful. The weather finally got wonderfully warm. I got to go on a nice long run before stopping at a park for a few hours--yes a few hours. Being inside all winter and spring has really gotten to Rex and Reagan too and they just did not want to leave, and with the weather so nice I couldn't say no. After a few hours, we got back in the stroller and I ran the rest of the way home, during which time both kids fell asleep and stayed asleep long enough for me to sneak them inside and get through some more dense, long, and mildly boring articles on educational theory.

Thursday night we had family night--I know we were a few days late, but I don't think there's really anything special about Monday night. Have I mentioned before how much I love family night? It's one of my favorite nights of the week. Not only do I get to spend the evening with my favorite people, but I also get to put some of my very expensive teaching skills to use. I love thinking of little lessons and activities to do with Rex. This week we learned about faith. Rex requested Book of Mormon stories as the opening song, which we sang twice. Then I read Alma 32 from the children's reader. Greg then shared a few thoughts from the real scriptures. And then, obviously, we had to plant a seed--which Rex had previously picked out at the IFA. We planted cilantro. We'll see if it grows. It's on Rex's dresser at the moment, so I'm not completely convinced. Anyway, Rex had a lot of fun playing with the dirt.

Friday was pretty much a repeat of Thursday , but this time without Reagan. After Rex's nap, we made cookies for the ward barbecue and I got this super cute video of Rex.

Saturday Greg decided to re-roof the house. Ok, he had decided a few weeks before but the weather promised to be lovely so he went for it. Rex and I watched from the lawn for a while, planted some flowers in place of my dead mint (seriously, who kills mint?) and then went inside to shower. I decided to take Rex to the library to keep him away from the mess and nails of the re-roofing. As we were getting ready to go, I was getting really overwhelmed with life--school, toddler, new baby (girl with no gear nonetheless), paying for the new roof, Emma's wedding, finding an orange semi-formal maternity dress for said wedding--I was not handling life, but decided to press forward with our walk to the library anyway. We left around noon. And apparently that was too late. This is when I learned another part of my lesson for the week--leave the house early, by feet if possible. As soon as I started walking to the library I felt better. All of a sudden life was happy and perfect again. I loved school, loved Rex, loved having a baby girl, loved the thought of not getting rained on while in my house (the roof wasn't that bad, I'm exaggerating) and all I could think of was that line from Legally Blonde, "Exercise gives you endorphines; endorphines make you happy and happy people just don't kill their husbands." I just needed a few endorphines. We picked out a few books and started our walk home. Rex feel asleep on the way--awesome--but not enough to stay asleep once transferred to his bed--lame. But I was tired and Greg was cleaning up so I put Rex in his room anyway and laid down for about 30 minutes before Rex got super bored and insisted that I let him out. Luckily for me, the neighbors were having a party and invited us over. Rex got his face painted (twice), jumped in the bounce house, played on a swing set, sang some karaoke, ate a cupcake was ready for nap. Not so little man. Too late for you. Directly after the party, we dropped Rex off at the sitter's and Greg and I headed out on a date. We went to Old Navy to use some 50% off coupons I found online--they do have the cutest little girl clothes. And then we went to dinner, came home, put Rex to bed, and did the usual after Rex goes to bed stuff--homework and video games. Once I followed my new rules for myself--get out of the house--I had a lovely day on Saturday.

Today we went to church. Rex loves church and got really excited when we walked up to the building--Church, church! he yelled (see how quickly I learn? I insisted that was walk to church this morning so as to avoid the overwhelming doom I felt yesterday). Rex was very good all through Sacrament meeting. He folded his arms during prayers, sang along with the hymns, and didn't run away even once. He was amazing. After church, was nap time and then dinner, which went wonderfully because of my new cookbook, and then we went to the park to fly kites and go down slides. And I had a great day--nap, wonderful weather, very little time spent indoors. I'm a pretty fast learner. (I threw in a picture of Rex on his bed because it is adorable.)

And so that was my week: a little bit of bad and a little bit of good--and none of the bad was my fault because it was all the stupid rain that kept me locked up. I take no responsibility for my actions on rainy days, so let's just hope the weather holds up until all of these crazy pregnancy hormones have had a chance to flush themselves from my system...in 5 months. Hmmm.