Day by Day

Each day in the Fosburg home is so crazy. A normal day for us is like several for the Tamy of a couple years ago. Anyone who knows me was aware of my goal-oriented, efficient, productive life style. My motto could easily have been "if it doesn't move us in a forward direction efficiently, it's not worth doing." Well, that just isn't applicable anymore. Goals are still important and I can't give up on my feeling productive so I make lists all the time. The definition of efficiency has definately changed though. Stopping all my work to play with building blocks Joseph likes isn't super efficient. In fact, it makes a mess in the process. Coloring for the hundreth time the sunshine and grass with Evie isn't really what I would call efficient. I end up with another great work of art to somehow fit on my crowded refrigerator. Giggling and laughing with Elizabeth certainly isn't efficient. The whole house could fall apart and I wouldn't notice. Of course, if you recognize the importance of those kinds of activities then efficiency isn't really a good measuring stick.

A regular day in our house starts at around 7am. Evelynn is always the first up for some strange reason. For a completely unknown reason she then changes her clothes so she can wear one of three (sometimes all at the same time) swimsuits that is ridiculously difficult to remove from that wiggly, skinny body. She's in it all day long.

Then JC wakes up around 8am while Evie's been playing in her room (supposedly). I still think she sometimes wakes him up, but it's impossible to tell. Then Lizzy wakes up. So we're all up at that point. Chris gets ready and goes to work and I get the kids changed into something like clothes (most mornings) and we all have breakfast together. Sometimes I even get to eat.

Then mom settles Lizzy into the swing for a nap while the kids help me with the chores like laundry (too much to do all in one day), dishes, phone calls, any projects I want done that day, vacuuming, whatever, etc. Then at 10:30am we all sit down for a snack (or mom gets a breakfast like something). Then JC heads off for a good long nap at 11am.

By this time Evie is so ready for some one on one she's annoying me like crazy. So we have school which changes all the time. Right now she's learning the difference between capital and small letters. Chris is really hoping she'll be reading soon. I'm a bit more realistic and hoping she'll be able to recognize that words are made out of the letters she's learning. So we have mommy A's and baby a's, along with the entire alphabet + corresponding song, counting to 20, identifying numbers to 10, recognizing shapes, colors, directions and colors in Spanish. She's also getting basic Spanish conversation and can now say hi and what her name is. It's so cute. My favorite part is reading two verses from the BOM and then a few of her fun books. She reads the BOM word for word with me and then just enjoys the books. She's so smart if I can get her to sit still long enough. The most common word during this period is "focus." She gets antsy and then her brain stops working. She is pretty darn obedient though and we quickly make it through whatever she wants to work on that day.

After that I get to do some more chores (the list is always quite long and goes by the week at this point. By the day was just too depressing. I never finished anything!) Evie and I have lunch and she then enjoys "rest time" instead of napping. This has now replaced the "quiet time" we used to have right before dinner when JC was taking more than one nap a day. Then Lizzy eats and plays and goes back to sleep in the swing.

At this remarkable moment, I have 1-2 hrs to do "my thing" whatever that might entail that day. Usually, I get to relax for a moment or two and do some of those things that it's impossible to do with kids around. I like to read, study, in-home exercise, watch a program on tv, email, blog, whatever strikes my fancy. Sometimes if the day's been long I even take a quick nap (on the couch).

Then it's snack time by 3pm and we have a little time to play. Now that it's warming up outside that occurs in the backyard. Then dad's miraculous entry from work when everything stops so he can get the hugs the kids are clammoring to give him. And then I start dinner. If Chris is nice, which he usually is, this is when Lizzy gets dinner so that I can actually get a real meal. We try to eat no later than 5:30pm or the kids get too cranky.

By 6pm dinner is over and I'm cleaning the table, the dishes, the kids, the floor, the walls, etc. (kids and food, what a combo) At 6:30pm I get JC ready for bed with jammies (I love that word) and brushing all 10 of his teeth. Then it's Evie's turn but we brush her hair too - like a princess! By 7pm JC's off to dreamland, Evie is cleaning her room and Lizzy is asleep in the swing yet again. Thank goodness for that swing! By 7:30 Evie is in bed and I sit down for a minute. Then I pick up the house so I can stand to be in it for another day.

By 8pm I realize I have a husband again and we sit next to each other and have our first real conversation. We decide what we're going to do that evening. This is only if we don't have home/visiting teaching to do or callings to fulfill that night. A lot of times we watch a news program and talk politics. I know, all the women are saying, " are you serious? That's so boring!" And honestly sometimes I could care less. Thankfully, I can tell my husband that without getting in trouble. A lot of times I feel really smart talking to him about current events. He's always interested in my take on things and sometimes I surprise him with my different point of view. I love when he validates my brains. I would hate to think he married me to be arm candy (yeah right!) Anyway, in the end we do something that has nothing to do with anything so we can just enjoy ourselves after a long day.

At 10pm Lizzy gets her last meal, a good long mommy/daddy time with smiles - laughs - giggles, you name it - and then she's off to bed (now in her room with JC!) Then at this point I always have a hard time - should I stay or should I go to bed now? Most of the time I choose to stay out for an extra hour or two to be with my husband and best friend. I just miss him a lot during the day. When I actually do go to bed, I sometimes read if it's not too late, or write in my journal. Then I slip blissfully into sleep on my wonderful Tempurpedic bed and I start the day all over again.

So, yes, each day is long and don't feel bad if you didn't always hear from me. I'm not being lazy, I'm just busy and I forget!

I love my family and though each day is long, they are good days. I love seeing my kids progress and having my home feel clean and happy. I love the work and even though it's really hard some days, difficult things make us strong (as Mitt Romney says in his new book - a Chris pick.) I love where we are. I love being a mom. I love being a wife. I love being me today.

Hopefully tomorrow I will love it still.

South Carolina Snow!

Evie, JC, and Lizzy! So cute!

Yes, it snowed here in South Carolina. It's supposed to be warm here! Someone forgot to tell the weather that I was looking forward to a snowless winter. Of course, the kids couldn't be happier. Luckily for them I had just finished cleaning out the garage and had located all of our snow stuff. We're probably the only ones in the whole neighborhood with ample snow clothes. Go figure: the family from Washington State brings the first winter snowfall in a decade with them.

Checking out the neighbors

Joseph had never played in the snow before. Last winter he was only a few months old. As you can see he loved it! He stuck his hands into this water tub that of course was full of ice water. He lost one glove, then the other, then he just chucked them and ran around with bare hands. Evie hates cold fingers! He's so funny and I love seeing how he does things differently. Eventually the cold got to him, but not until after he'd fallen in the snow several times. He actually crawled around in it, bare hands and all.

Making tracks

Evelynn loved the snow, as always. She could spend forever out there. She has such a fantastic imagination. We drew giant circles in the snow with our shoes and played around with some tupperware. She's so fun. I love watching her grow up.

Mommy and Elizabeth getting fresh air

Even Elizabeth got into the spirit. She didn't last long of course, but she liked the sunshine and the fresh air had to smell good even for her. She was lost in a blue sea of snow suit, but she was warm and relatively happy for a long enough time to take some pix and be with her brother and sister. It was a blast.

I love playing with my kids. We're looking into getting a dog soon and hopefully a playground (swing set, whatever) for the backyard with last year's tax return. This years' is going straight to emergency savings and debt repayment (thank you Dave Ramsey!). Wish us luck and hope you're all having a great winter.

Better Late than Never!

So I know it's half way through January, but I'm finally in a position to sit for a few minutes and tell you about Christmas.

Of course, this year was quite different for us. It was our first Christmas completely away from family Christmases. We were very blessed though to have the Fosburgs join us down here for the holiday. Mike and Ronda spent almost 2 wks cleaning, cooking, baby sitting, and just being with us. I loved it! It was so nice to have other adults to talk to during the daytime. Chris was blessed with work in that he was given his parent leave, plus Christmas leave, so I had him almost the whole month of December. It was really nice to have him home to help us adjust to our new little one.

I was completely unprepared for Christmas since that was when Elizabeth was due and Chris didn't get home from training in Alabama until the 9th. Anyway, we finally got our shopping done on Christmas Eve thanks to Mike and Ronda. We had so much fun wrapping the gifts,

filling the stockings, and preparing the breakfast for the next morning. I love Christmas. We didn't do any kind of program or anything this year. We actually never got to a Santa Claus this year for pix either. While I regret the pix a bit, I never would have made it. I was a bit overwhelmed this year so I'm grateful we were able to do what we did.

The kids loved Christmas. Evie got a whole trunk full of dress up clothes. Her favorite piece was the crown. She still ends up in an outfit from that trunk every day. We have to often remind her not to sleep and eat in the dress up clothes. She dances around telling us what a princess is supposed to do and we even end up with a very handsome prince sometimes. JC loves to play with his big sister.

JC loves his rocking horse, pirate tent, and sword. We had a blast with our little boy. It was so fun to see him rocking on the horse since his feet don't touch the ground. He's such a strong kid. He and Evie love the tent. Between the dress up clothes they both wear and the tent, they're never REALLY at home. The sword, while fun for JC, is not always a good choice on our part. He is still a bit wobbly and the sword, though made of styrofoam stuff, is a bit unwieldy. Evie on the other hand loves it. I personally have dubbed Evie "lady talksalot," JC "sir laughsalot," and Chris "sir sleepsalot." We all giggled at the dubbing ceremony. Evie thought I was just hitting people. So what if I was?

Lizzy did really well for Christmas. She was really awake for most of the gifts and the lunner we had later. She's so cute and though we didn't have a special Christmas outfit for her, we sure enjoyed the convenience of her birth being early that we could spend the actual day all together. I was nervous about her being born on or real close to the event since our

hospital won't allow children under 18 above the second floor due to H1N1 issues. I was on the 4th floor so I would have spent the day without my kids. I'm so glad it didn't turn out that way!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. We surely did. I am so grateful for family, friends, and of course, our Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ. Though we have our challenges and difficulties we recognize the great gifts we have been given in the smiles of our children, in the touch of a spouse, and the love that fills our hearts during special times when despite all odds we continue to grow and prosper. Thank goodness for the gospel and all the wonderful things that attend the church of Jesus Christ. What blessings were reaped in 2009.

Loves - Tamy