I am not a type A personality. But I definitely have some type A tendencies. Like planning and lists. I HAVE to plan. I haven't always been this way. I've always liked lists and I've always liked being in control (because, really, who doesn't?) But it really started once I had kids. You can't just up and leave for hours with kids. I guess you can but it's probably make many people miserable. Kids need naps. And food. And diaper changes. And routine.  Without a little bit of planning, they'll be missing out on at least one of those.  So.... I plan. And I make lists. And I schedule. And I have a routine.  And when one handsome man who makes decisions based off of everything BUT 'the plan' it makes me crazy. Not like I yell at him or start talking to myself. But I stew and wonder what will happen. And I have little patience for things that I can normally control.  So you can imagine how I'm functioning right now with things like this going on...

• We have slept in our own beds a total of maybe 10 times in the last month and a half.
• There has been talk about a new job opportunity (again) which would require putting the Masters Degree on hold..
• Tayv will be starting Kindergarten at a brand new school. Because it's a new school I won't find out about his schedule until right before he starts. As in, the night before.

I think the universe is trying to send me a message. Let go, Stacia. Just let go.

These cute kids of mine...

I'll just put this out there.... pictures of the kids this year were a joke! The night before, Tahn got about

half the amount of sleep he usually does and WAS NOT going to sit for more than 3 seconds at a time,

Tayv tried but once we got Aree situated in his lap and turned around to put Tahn in place he just

had to move, and Little Miss was hungry. So basically,

 I didn't get a real smile from any of them. But they are cute little stinkers. :)

New News

There will be no cute way of announcing it this time cause frankly I feel like we JUST did this.  I'm pregnant. Due in March, a day before Tahn will be 18 months.
Crazy? Yes.
Coming regardless? Yes.
Stressed? Yes.
Will we survive? I certainly hope so.
There you have it-why I've been sick, emotional, lazy, and MIA.
BUT...  On the bright side....
Tayvin REALLY wants a sister (and Nate wants a girl.) I was informed of the Drano test. It says its a girl...we'll see.
I am out of my 1st trimester and finally starting to feel better. Just DON'T bring hamburgers around me, please! :)
Nate has given me permission to SPEND money if it's a girl!
Babies R Us is having a trade in sale which just happens to work perfectly since my infant car seat expires in January. (So run over there if you need baby gear!)
No more birthdays in the fall!!!

Just so you know....

Nate went back to school this week. (Ok, it was last week but Tayv was gone so it's been a bigger adjustment this week.) And Tayv will start school next week. I'm exhausted and the kids just want their daddy. So.... blog update to come... in two years or so. :)

Question....

How wrong is it to turn up the music so that I can't hear my children?

13 miles and counting...

One day I hope to write a more lengthy, detailed version of this post but for now, since I'm on borrowed time, this will have to do.
It's been almost two weeks since we completed our half marathon and the euphoria still hasn't worn off.
I was a couple months pregnant and just getting into running again when I decided I would need a goal to get me back on track after I had the baby. Long story short, we ended up at Bear Lake on June 12th ready to run just over 13 miles. Ok, ready may be a bit of an overstatement. We really hadn't trained very consistently, I was throwing up the day before and had the worst stomach cramps I've ever experienced, and it was rainy. 
I had two goals for the race:
-finish under 3 hours (which is an immense amount of time, I realize. Please don't make fun of me.)
-run the entire way-NO WALKING!
 I DID IT!
I don't expect you to be as excited as I am about it. Heck, you don't even have to read this post if you don't want to. But I would suggest something like this to ANYONE. Aside from childbirth I've never done anything more enabling. Since I had Tahn, I've been toying with the idea of having my next baby without any medication since that's actually an option for me now. But honestly, I wasn't sure I could do it. After finishing that race, still standing, and thinking I could have made myself run a few more miles, I feel like I can do anything I put my mind to. So if you happen to be looking for a little inspiration in your life, I recommend 13 miles and then some. :) For us, there will be many, many more.

P.S. Shot blocks are AMAZING. In case you were wondering.
P.P.S. And even more amazing is my sweet, sweet husband who slowed down so he could push me the entire way. Thanks Babe!

Here we go again...

Our computer crashed. Again. Luckily, after we got it back I finally opened the box to one of my Christmas presents and backed up all my pictures. So I will only be losing the semi-important things. Anyway, I have no idea when I'll be back online so for now, in case you were wondering...

• I think I hate Dell and now want a Mac.
• I am as computer stupid as it gets. 
• Our half marathon is this weekend.
• And no, we are not ready for it.
• We did run over 8 miles last week though. Only 5 more? No prob. :)
• Tayvin has developed quite the attitude.
• We're very close to having all dental work completed for the year! (Hundreds and hundreds of dollars later.)
• I am in the midst of attempting to plan three birthday parties and one 5 year anniversary without a computer. (My mom would think I'm nuts for putting in the computer part but what can I say? I only steal ideas from others-I'm just not creative.)
• Tahnyon now says da-da, knows who all of us are by name, waves bye-bye, is starting to crawl, has his two bottom teeth, and is still my angel baby.
• We are loving the sun and enjoying having a back yard.

Our lives seem rather boring written down, don't they?

The Truth.

We were talking to some friends the other night about blogs and our own blogging.  They mentioned how it's frustrating to them that many people paint their lives as near perfect when they blog. I'm all for counting blessings and trying to look on the positive side but I think they have a point in that it seems like some are trying to deceive. So just in case you were wondering...

• My house is often messy. I try to keep it clean and for the most part it's fairly organized. But there is usually stuff on my counter, I almost always need to vacuum, and you can pretty much bet there are toys on the floor.
• I don't make Tayvin's bed everyday.
• Tayvin's chore list often goes untouched for weeks at a time.
• I make dinner most nights and try to cook healthy but I also like to bake and I LOVE SWEETS!
• We are poor.
• As much as I love making and fixing things up, if I could, I would buy new things instead of refinishing book cases, etc.
• I don't shop at boutiques because I can't afford them.
• As much as I hate waiting in check-out lanes at Walmart, I still shop there because I refuse to spend double on cleaning products.
• I DO NOT work out everyday.
• Date night usually doesn't happen in our house.
• I don't wake up to make Nate's lunch at 5:30 am.
• If we're not leaving the house, Tayvin's hair doesn't get combed.
• Sometimes we stay in our pajamas until just before Nate gets home.
• I don't really use cloth diapers to be green.  Mostly I do it to save money.
• There are plenty of days that go by that I choose to read my own book instead of reading to my kids.
• Sometimes I'm just too lazy to have veggies with our lunch.
• I still have some V-day decorations out.
• We can barely walk in the basement because I have so many projects in the works and I just haven't organized it in awhile.
• I try to be supportive but the thought of Nate going back to school still makes me want to cry.
• I am currently eating Muddy Buddies for breakfast.
• I'm too lazy to use coupons.
• Sometimes I choose to read a novel instead of the Ensign.
• Sometimes I hate the sacrifices we are making in order to make our future goals.

There you have it, the truth. Come back soon for pics of our trip to Alaska if you still care to associate with us. :)

• Oh, but the most important truth, we love our little family and are happy with our lives.

Overheard: A new one

2 weeks ago, our ward was split. So as you can imagine, there are a lot of new callings being issued.  And my sweet husband who is always willing to serve, was called to be the Young Men's president.  I'm choosing to completely leave out my opinion on it because my feelings haven't yet reached a level that I'm comfortable with.  But I will tell you this... before we went into church on Sunday, I sat in the car with Tayv so we could talk about what's happening in our lives.  We talked about the change of daddy going to school and how his new calling would mean that he'd be around even less. That while we thought we would have weekends with him, that may not be the case now.
 Tayv: "But won't we be sad?"
 Me: "Yah, we'll be sad but we'll also be happy too because we'll know that daddy is serving Heavenly Father and helping people."
 Tayv: "Yah that's true." And then, (very apprehensively) "Well, do you think we should get a new one?"
 Me: "A new what?"
 Tayv: "A new daddy."

I realize this sounds very sad. And it was, it made me cry. I debated whether or not I should tell Nate but when I did, he thought it was hilarious. I'm sure it made him a little sad but he insisted I post it here. 

And just in case you were wondering, there will be no new daddy getting around here.

The Verdict.

It has been decided. Tayvin will get his own friends birthday party right around his birthday. The theme he wants is sharks and fish.  I want Tahn to have his own 1st birthday party so 2 weeks later, Tahnyon will get a cute little turtle party with his friends. And somewhere in between, they'll have a combined party for our family. The theme? THING 1 and THING 2! I'm so excited.  The Cat in the Hat will be making an appearance to tell the kids his story, the pictures on the wall will be tilted, there will be kites, and the list goes on. But I'm always still looking for ideas so if you have any, let me in on them!

And thanks everyone for your input.

Please vote?
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Insane

This is one of the gifts Tayvin is getting for Christmas...

And this is what our floor already looks like because of that blasted play-doh...

(Of course, the picture doesn't quite do it justice.)

I always knew motherhood would drive me insane, I just thought it would take

more than 3 years and two kids.

Pray for me.

I know, I know-we're definitely due for some pictures. I've been so frustrated lately. When I had Tayv, I would take pictures of him all day long. Well, let's just say, Tahn is being neglected in the picture department. I do try-but usually as soon as I start Tayv needs me for something or I've missed the window and it's lunch or nap time. But I did a few photo shoots the other day in order to get some pics of Tayv in his blessing tux (only a week late.) So stay tuned.

An incredible life

In the midst of diapers, nursing, a million failed attempts to clean, book reading, play-dough, laundry, and so many other things that mean I'm a mom of two; I can't help but wonder what my life would be like without ALL my boys. But it doesn't take long to figure out that it would be boring, unfulfilling, and lonely. I can't believe how blessed I've been and what an incredible life I have.

Here's one of the newest reasons...

And just for the record, even though you can barely see it, I think his little baby acne embarrasses Nate but I still think he's adorable. (Of course, Nate does too.)