welcome to Narnia

tonight i started reading "The Magician's Nephew" from one of my very favorite books series, "The Chronicles of Narnia" with the girls. it was one of those "mom-high" moments where i felt like i floated on a cloud out of their room at bedtime and just had to write it down. i mean how often does that happen at bedtime? i love words and books and pages - they feel like friends to me. i just love the way they can wrap you up and transport you and anyone within their reach to a whole different place. the Chronicles of Narnia were some of the first books i remember doing that to me. where i felt like i wasn't just a spectator...but rather a character grabbed by the hands and feet by those words, and taken on an amazing adventure, to an idyllically beautiful place that i didn't want to ever leave. it's so special to be able to be a part of that same magic with my kids.

life is good with these three. it's not perfect. i feel like it's a tough world we live in these days. social media has us convinced that we need to be people living in two extremes: either life is orderly and perfect and just like so with new shoes and healthy meals and pillows and perfect paint on our walls, or we should be dang proud of how out of control it all is, eating donuts for every meal. i'm like switzerland in this - just neutral. totally far from perfect - ( let it be known that my perfect INCLUDES donuts for dinner!) but i care about my house being clean, when i'm not too tired to do it.

these days i am outnumbered and often exasperated, searching for energy and time and more energy and more time every day. the girls are busy with preschool and 2nd grade, and ballet, gymnastics and violin lessons. we drive from one thing to the next, and i hope that i am helping them discover their talents and love for things, and not just busying them so much that they are miserable. i spend a lot of time chasing Jack and keeping him from immediate danger. he is a thrill seeker! and he really loves dumping things everywhere. crayons. pretzels. pencil shavings. blocks. back-pack papers. if it can be dumped, he's dumping it. (that sounds kind of gross the way i typed that. but it's true). it just seems like there aren't enough minutes to get it all done and clean the way i like it. i wish i were a little better at multitasking, i wish i liked doing laundry (because i really hate it and avoid it and hate it) and i wish i had it better under control... but i'm realizing that it's sad to wish away these precious young years with my kids. they want to be with me, in spite of the messes. they don't care about the piles of laundry that need to be folded. they're grateful to come and shuffle through the piles and find stuff if they need it. they don't mind eating breakfast for dinner AGAIN! because let's be real, it's the easiest dinner ever and everyone tells you how much they love you for letting them drench their face in whip cream and syrup. they still need my hugs. and i realllly need their hugs. they aren't too cool for bike rides or selfies while we ride - which is one of my very favorite things to do with them right now. they love for me to sing them songs and even like my music, they'll dance with me and laugh at my embarrassing ugly dance moves, they'll lip sync with me, they do their homework when i ask them to, and they lovvvvve to be read to. and so, i'm gonna keep reading to them as long as they'll let me. because i lovvvve reading to them. it's just one of those perks to the job for me. and all of the un-perks...well, they aren't going anywhere. they can wait.

#beingamomisthehardestbestthing

(do people hashtag their blogs? well i just did. boom.)

xoxo

jumbled jots: what we've been up to and some rambling rambles.

i'm in the middle of writing the longest Disneyland Tips post there ever was. and also a post on beauty products. but the world around me keeps moving fast and things keep happening and i keep having random thoughts.so here's my jumbled jots post for the day.

when we got home from our trip, we dove right back into the swing of things. we had joy school at our house the very next day, and then the day after that we got to participate in a Relief Society activity (Women through the Ages) where Ellie and i (along with the YW and some of my friends) got to model clothing from different eras. Ellie was adorable in a Vintage 1890's Victorian dress. she was thrilled to be the featured little girl in the fashion show, complete with a vintage beaded purse and a big pink bow. i love having little girls. the outfits i got to wear were definitely memorable- an 1890's school gal, a 1970's flower child, and a 1980's prom diva. we had some good laughs.

then both girls and i got really sick. Ellie got croup, Alice got the stomach flu (both diagnosed by the dr.), and i got bronchitis (as diagnosed by my mother who's hardly ever wrong). ok so it may not have been bronchitis at all, but the earth definitely shook multiple times a day when i coughed my guts out, and my throat felt the size of a golf ball, so i'm saying it was bronchitis.what a horrible strand of luck we've had! (both girls had terrible ear infections leaving on our trip and were on antibiotics almost the whole time- i think we've been sick more often than not this winter. super discouraging! what am i doing wrong?? i've turned into super-freak-wash-your-hands-a-hundred-times-a-day-mom, have-anti-bacterial-soap-in-every-jacket-purse-pocket-and-sweater-mom, lysol-every-room-ten-times-a-day-mom, and wash-the-sheets-and-towels-multiple-times-a-week-mom. i don't know what else to do).

in order to cope with this terrible luck, we watched an insane amount of tv and movies. Ellie is recently hooked on Little Einsteins. Alice lovvves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. both girls love Sesame Street and Word World. and then there's the endless list of disney movies: the new Winnie the Pooh, Mary Poppins, Tangled, Princess and the Frog, Snow White, Dumbo, Cinderella, the Little Mermaid, Toy Story, Cars....i mean seriously. it's nuts!

Sunday rolled around and we kept the girls home from church because Ellie was still coughing that scary croup-cough and Alice was still fevering/having crazy digestive problems. that afternoon, Ellie wanted to watch something. i told her i that i thought we had watched enough tv together the last few days and that maybe we could go color and read some books together. you would not believe the crazy reaction that ensued. you'd have thought i was trying to get her to eat cabbage! or that i had threatened to take her to the dentist! or that i was trying to convince her to wear a color other than red or pink! it was in that moment that i realized that i had created a tv-crazed-monster and i needed to figure out what to do to fix it.

initially i really didn't want to say "no TV" because i admit, i love the breaks that a tv show here and there gives me. and i'm pretty strict on what shows they can watch- aside from Mickey Mouse, i feel like all the shows they watch are pretty educational (and even Mickey can be educational), and so allowing them to watch some shows is easy to justify; "they're learning!", i tell myself. but the truth was, i had let the show-watching get out of control, and we needed a cleanse. so starting last Monday (3/19) i said "no TV."

you should have heard the water works! how could i be so cruel! it was like i was oppressing my people, not allowing them to have a fundamental survival tool like toilet paper or water. such a dictator, i am! multiple times on Monday, Ellie would cry and say, "Pleeeasssseee Mama, let me watch something!" and i would nicely say, "i'm so sorry, Ellie. i know it's hard to understand, but we can't watch any tv for a while. it's making us mean." because it was. she was a mean-zombie-headed-tv-addicted little girl. and she thought i was the grinch-mom who was keeping Christmas from coming every moment of the day.

the first thing we did to divert attention from a tv-less existence was to go to the Library. this meant that i had to cough up the $20 of overdue fines that had kept me from going to the library the past few months, but i knew it would be worth it. i gave the lady librarian my crisp $20, realizing i could have bought 5 boxes of Girl Scout cookies with that cash. i hate being dumb and paying $20 for stupid things like late books., so after checking out new ones, i put a reminder in my phone the day before they were due. no more lost boxes of Girl Scout cookies for me, no siree. the girls had a blast at the library that morning- we picked out 16 books to take home with us. Alice ripped a page in one of the books within the first 5 minutes- what is it with these toddlers that makes them so destructive? she's a mess! regardless, i love having Library books, and always wonder why i don't make the effort to go more often. we even found some new super cute ones this time (like 'Who Hops?' the girls think it's hilarious). i love that. and it's provided lots and lots of moments of little girls tucked in corners and snuggled on laps lost in the pages of books. heaven, i tell you.

 back to the tv-less life. we ended up surviving without TV the whole week- Monday thru Friday (well, till Friday night, when we let them have a special movie night with a babysitter while we saw Hunger Games- booyah!). then on Saturday, we let the girls watch some of their favorite shows-- they were seriously thrilled- like birthday-holiday-presents-style thrilled... andddd, the best part was that they weren't even upset when i said it was time to turn it off. success! i think that's my main goal- for the girls to understand that TV is a special treat/privilege- not something that you're just entitled to, or that you do in any free moment. now, don't get me wrong. there were definitely moments that i almost broke; like when i would be trying to make dinner, M would still not be home, and both girls were whining or making a huge disaster somewhere. or when Alice would bring me a Mickey Mouse DVD and say ever-so-sweetly, "pllleeeeaassse?" but i stuck to my guns, and i feel like the girls have found other much-more-meaningful things to do than just sitting in front of the tube (helping me in the kitchen, spending un-rainy moments at the park and twirling on the grass, and finding interesting uses for toys and objects like lining toys up on the mini ironing board, just to name a few). and the very best part is that it's Monday afternoon, and the kids haven't asked to watch tv once today.

 what's your plan with your kids and tv-watching? how do you not let it spiral out of control? i don't think always want to be the mom that is a "no-tv" freak (i mean, i love watching tv, too!)- but i feel like my kids need serious structure and limits or else they go crazy and that's all they want to do. right now i'm thinking no tv during the week for a while. is that an idealistic, lofty goal? i'm obviously a rookie at it and could use tips.

other than TV-fasting, i, like the rest of the planet was aboard the "Hunger Games" craze and saw the movie this weekend. i feel like there are some total harsh critics out there! i mean, i'm not the hardest person to please when it comes to movies...and i know that they had to leave some stuff out- and let's be honest, books are ALWAYS better than movies, but i thought he movie was pretty amazing. and it was super fun to go with a big group of friends, too. who's Katniss, again?

also, did you know that i am baby hungry? well i am. it's weird because when Ellie grew out of baby-hood, i never really got baby-hungry. like at all. like even when i got pregnant with Alice, i was super skeptical and freaked out. i thought everyone who wanted another baby was crazy, even people with really cute ones. i think it was just my way of coping with Ellie being a hard one. conversely, i've been abnormally baby hungry since before Alice even turned 1. she was such a sweet baby- and i never wanted her to grow up, and when i realized she wasn't listening to me, i longed for another one. timing is an interesting thing, isn't it? because even though i have had this longing, i've known it wasn't right. hopefully someday soon. until then, i have now organized all my bins of girl clothes (even though we are crossing our fingers that there's a boy waiting up in heaven somewhere) and even organized all the baby toys and blankets and trinkets. strange way to cope with baby hunger- but whatever. i will also live vicariously through all my pregnant friends and friends with brand new babies. is there anything more miraculous than a newborn? i think not. even M was smitten with lil Viv.

 {our friends, Dale & Elyse's new baby girl Vivian}

oh! which reminds me! before Elyse had that precious little baby Vivian, a few friends and i threw her the cutest baby shower at my house. it was a "build-a-library" shower (since you know me and my love for Children's books), with the cutest little crepe bar and juice bar. it turned out so darling, thanks to the help of some awesome gals. (i snagged these pictures from Elyse's blog. you can check out more details on the shower here).

i'm so blessed to have such awesome women in my life.

and other than all of that, plus eating lots of treats and warm soup and bread to help keep warm + cozy with this crazy rain we've been having, i think that about sums it all up. only took me 1,789 words to get there.

 p.s. if you're in need of a laugh, check out this youtube video. the lady is a total weirdo, but she's sure to make you laugh. thanks Bec for the tip.

xoxo

i'm a bum.

so we've been home from our little Disneyland excursion for almost a week and i feel like i'm still recovering.
it doesn't help that my lovely lil toddler has been crying for 4 days straight...
(listening to wails and screams as i type).
and hasn't been napping more than 20 minutes a day.
and has been waking up waaaayyy too early. and unhappily.
is it an age thing?
or the 2-year molars?
or the fact that she's an overly dramatic girl- possibly learned behavior from her mother?
or maybe she can sense that her world is about to be earthquaked...forever?
i don't know.
but i'm going crazy.
and i feel like i'm in the world's biggest funk.
and all i can think about is how adorable Ellie was at Disneyland. and how i wish we could just pitch a tent there and live there. permanently. because we were all so happy there.

and so to try to remedy the situation, i'm drinking too much diet coke than i should, being pregnant.

eating foods that can't possibly be good for me (though feel so right...like the cookies my friend Jenny ever-so-generously made for me...and which i've hidden from everyone in my house).

and escaping the world through reading the ever depressing Hunger Games series (almost done with book 2...anyone have Mockingjay for me to borrow? and sidenote: why are we as a society so engulfed and ensnared by this series?? it is so disturbing yet addicting. mind boggling to me...and yet i'm caught in its trap).

yes, basically, i'm a bum.

and so i think i'll go eat another cookie...
because that's what bums do.
(just so you know jenny, they're the only thing that has worked all week. you're a gem :) )

i promise a real post, with real pictures, and real updates, real soon.

xoxo

happy happenings and other ramblings

(just another name for a random-non-sensical post, which gives me the perfect opportunity to dump all the random-non-sensical photos i've collected on my phone the last few weeks)

hi it's me.
this is what i look like today.

 ...and i'm still growing.
(unnecessary side note: it is really hard to get a good pregnancy photo...let alone take one of yourself. but i think i have only taken like 2 actual belly shots this entire pregnancy. like i've mentioned before, poor poor 2nd pregnancy. gets totally overshadowed by the first.).

people are asking me now questions like this:
"so are you about 2 weeks away now?" i wish.
"how soon till that baby pops right out of you?" i hope that never happens. sounds like a balloon circus trick. one that would totally freak me out.
"please tell me you're close to the end??" how close is close?
"your due date is September...?" no. not till the middle of OCTOBER. though September is sounding mighty nice.

i know most people don't mean harm by such questions.
i probably have asked a potpourri of them to other pregos in my past. makes me wanna whack my pre-prego-Marci-version-of-myself over the head with a newspaper. hopefully they knew me well enough to know i didn't have a clue what i was talking about/asking.

but just a reminder of what i looked like the day before delivery:

i was huge.
so yes, i still have a ways to go.

anyway- things are going well lately.
i thought i'd tell you about some of our happy happenings...some relating to pregnancy (since it's pretty much invading all my space...including my mind..these days), and some not-so-much about pregnancy (because let's be honest, Ellie is pretty much my world...so i have to put the "i'm pregnant" card aside 99% of the time).

•  i'm contracting a ton, which freaks me out sometimes. like they come on so strong that i get all out of breath and actually have to sit down at the store (which i've noticed, there aren't lots of places to sit down in most stores. go figure). Ellie gets very concerned when i start breathing heavily. she'll always say, "are you ok, Mama?" "Mama, are you not feeling good?" she's so sweet, it kills me. anyway, even though the contracting freaks me out sometimes, it's also pretty exciting. this is really going to happen. i'm not going to be pregnant forever. we really will have another human around here (all thoughts that are constantly racing in my mind, and of which i am convincing myself of regularly).

• we plan to lay sod this weekend! which means we'll have grass in our backyard! poor M. he's been working back there so hard in all his free moments...which just have been way too few...especially with all the travel the last few months. but all our patience and his hard work will be paid off when we have some lush green grass to lay out a blanket on...or to put our kiddie pool on. i have to admit, i'm pretty stinkin' excited to graduate from being the super-ghetto-fly-mom who puts her kiddie pool on the front lawn for all the passerby's to see. i can't wait to have a backyard! (can you tell i'm just a little too excited about this??)

• i finally jumped on the "team cool" bandwagon and started Hunger Games! in fact, i can't believe i'm blogging right now instead of reading. it's always thrilling to have a new read-- and a good one at that.

• i finally bought my first item for baby girl. a little sleeper to bring her home in from the gap.

 it's just simple, but so sweet.
i knew as soon as i bought something, i'd have opened a can of worms...which has definitely happened. who could resist these teal little shoes? 

and this back + white alcatraz sweater? (picture to come momentarily).
seriously. baby clothes are the cutest. i've been having fun getting the old things out and oogling over everything again. though she'll be born/go through different seasons, baby sister will definitely get to wear some of my favorite Ellie things-- and that just makes me happy :). dressing up baby girls is the best.

• Halloween is only 2 months away! i love Halloween. so much (but i do find it slightly odd that two weeks ago, Costco already had it's Christmas decorations out...that's a little over-zealous, don't you think? i mean, it's 100 degrees outside here today. a little hard for me to think about Christmas lights and peppermint candycanes...(though it is secretly quite thrilling to see it all again, too!)). anyway, we finally decided on our family costume ensemble. (you know me and my crazy fetish with getting the whole family to dress up together...poor M. see here and here for previous costume ensembles....don't worry, i promised him since i made him wear tights last year, he'd be something FAR less embarrassing this year...and i'm keeping to my word (though it's been hard)). anyway, so now i've been looking for items to complete the ensemble for several days now...and i think it's going to be really cute + fun. though, it is on the border of cheesy + dorky. but i guess that's what you get with family ensembles.  anyway, i've been so excited about Halloween that i bought Ellie some new jammies that are pink with bones on them. 

she had them in black last year (and actually still fits in them...weirdest jammies ever- kind of like the pants in the sisterhood of the traveling pants that fit multiple sizes) and we have loved those to pieces, so i had to do a repeat buy. cool thing is, i bought some for baby sister too (back to my "opening the can of worms with buying one thing" dilemma.......shhh, don't tell M. they're "gifts..." :)). anyway, of course i had to put Ellie in them the other night....

and i admit, it looked a little silly to have her in long-sleeved jammies eating a popsicle because it was still so hot outside.

• we're going to Disneyland next week! seriously. we are so excited. we decided a few months ago that it would probably be good for Ellie to have one last trip with us before her world is foreverly shaken and rocked and twisted and turned (ie shared with another human). it was good timing, since M is in desperate need of a break from work...and i always love a reason to A) visit mi familia and B) party hard, Disney style/So Cal style. so here's a question for you: we haven't bought our tickets to Disneyland yet. any suggestions for getting cheap tickets? maybe you know someone trying to get rid of some? let me know. i'd be verrrry interested :)

• i'm kinda obsessed with doing new hairdo's on Ellie. luckily she is a trooper..and if i have sesame street on, she'll let me tug and pull as much as i want...most days. i love when Ellie's hair is all done up cute! i just can't wait for it to thicken up a bit. when does that happen, exactly? i feel like it shoulda happened by now...

• Ellie says lots and lots of funny things lately.i'm trying my best to write them down as they happen- but it's hard to keep up!
  
  earlier this week, when hearing the the guitar come on a song, she said, "the guitar, like Gammy plays the guitar!" wow, very perceptive, Ell!
  also, while trying to enjoy some relaxing, peaceful Yoga last week (at Young Womens), Ellie was amazed by all the tricks and flexibilty  of the girls. finally they did this move where they ended up in a back-bend and she yells, "Whoa! Crazy girls!" everyone laughed. (thank goodness, because i was sweatin' bullets trying to keep her quiet). later, when everyone was laying down, cooling down, she said, "All the girls go night night?" again, laughter. she's so observant...and loves to be a narrator.
  
  she also is very aware that we are going to Disneyland- and wakes up every morning asking, "Going to gammy's today? Going to Disneyland today?" No Ellie, not today. next week, sweetie. next week.
  
  finally, she is very enthralled with the temple...she loves it and always says that "Mama and Dada- princess and prince at the temple." So cute. Well, yesterday when the Disney Castle came up before a movie, she said, "Ellie's temple!" Well, kinda, sweetie. but, i just didn't have the heart to correct her and burst that bubble quite yet :)
  
  she definitely is a talker.
  but we've known that for a long, long time.

• i'm learning how to sew! my mother-in-law is ever so kindly taking the time, diligence, and patience (and tons of other stuff) to teach me. we've started by making bumper pads/a blanket for baby sister's room. here is a not so good photo of the fabrics i've bought for that project: 

i honestly love them. so different from Ellie's room (which is pink, black and white)-- but yet so so cute and feminine too.
some thoughts on sewing:
i am a terrible cutter.
really, i am.
luckily, Lynne doesn't let me get discouraged and says things like "that's ok, we'll just tuck that under the seam." makes me laugh thinking about it.
also, i don't think i'm meticulous enough for sewing...like, i'm the type of person that is super efficient and loves getting things done. sewing takes time. and patience. and more time. Marci + sewing = an interesting combination.
regardless, i'm not giving up-- and i can't wait to have some of my projects done.

• Ellie got to ride in a big firetruck this weekend at our Ward Activity. 

she thought it was the coolest thing. they let her touch tons of buttons and even get on the drivers seat by the steering wheel. she thinks cars and trucks and trains are pretty cool in fact, every time she sees BART, our public transportation train, go by, she squeals, "look at the train, mama!"

so, naturally, if there is ever a train to be ridden, we ride on it.

 (another unnecessary side note: i sure hope my teeth don't look that yellow in real life. i need a good whitening! whoa!)

• M and i went to John Mayer a few weeks ago. did i post about this already? maybe i did. but i'm still thinking about it. it was ammmmmmazzzinnng. seriously. we just laid on the lawn and listened to all these songs that basically felt like the soundtrack to our life (minus the whole "who says we can't get stoned" part...though i did feel a little woozy with all the smoke being puffed by us the whole time). it was wonderful to have a night together. it's always wonderful to have a night together.

• we've also enjoyed lots of company the last few weeks! of course i didnt' whip my camera out for a single snap of any of them (my dad, my sister Mimi, and my cousin's wife Dany)...but it's so fun to have family and friends come and visit. we love having familiar faces around. so come visit me! seriously. i love having my family + friends canteen filled. and ask Mimi + Dany- i make a wicked good breakfast (my dad only wanted Cheerios...party pooper).

• i think one of my favorite things to do with Ellie right now is to go to Costco or Sam's Club. she LOVES their hot-dogs and pizza! she especially loves that she gets her own drink.

and i love that it's so stinkin' cheap...and that i can get some essentials-shopping done while we're there. so if you ever wanna meet us for lunch...Sam's/Costco is where it's at!

• we also have been having lots of fun going to birthday parties and baby showers- Ellie has been such a trooper through it all. she gets really excited for the birthday parties...because she is recently obsessed with frosting. such a kid (but i'll admit, i like the frosting best too). i love my little best friend + companion Ellie.

and so we're trompin' along.
with a watermelon attached to me.
which isn't so bad, i guess.
most of the time :)

life is happy!
hope it is for you too.
(and now i will go turn the AC waaaayyy down, because i just worked so hard on this blog post and i'm sweatin' up a storm. happy wednesday!)

xoxo