It Really Works!

Lately, I have been stressed about not being able to get things done, or feeling overwhelmed that I had too much to do around the house, and that I had no time to just sit down and do what I needed to anymore, and that I kept piling things on top of other things instead of getting down to the bottom and cleaning it all out, and add on top of that I had been watching too much TV, not reading enough or doing enough mind- or body-exercising things....

Frankly, I was beating myself up pretty bad.

So then a couple weeks ago, Sis Metallo taught us in YW about using our time wisely. She mentioned the talk by Elder Dallin H. Oaks about "Good, better, best." Choose the best things to do first, then the better, and then if you have time, you can do the good. I've heard this lesson over and over and over again. I've seen the jar with the rocks and the sand and the water over and over. It's all the same. But that week, I finally understood.

At that point, my to-do list was pretty much at least 10 things or more I had to get done every day. It was overwhelming. I felt unaccomplished and upset when I couldn't get it all done, and I beat myself up about it every day. So I made a decision: I chose THREE things I needed to get done the next day. One was the most important, or the best. The next was second important, or better. And the third, which I should still try to get done, would be the good. And that was all I allowed myself to do, and if I didn't do anything else other than that, that it was OK because I got done what was the most important that day. And of course, I started this all off with a prayer to make sure these were the most important things I needed to get done that day.

And guess what! I did it! They were only three things, but I felt significantly more accomplished in that one day than I did after a whole week of trying to do things. And I even had time to crochet. And most importantly, I felt happy and at peace.

I continued this for a couple weeks, and am even still continuing this. I'm even exercising again. I am much happier with myself and my ever-messy house.

So why am I sharing this? I guess because yes, I am wasting time and I needed something to write about. But also, because this was a testimony builder for me. It may be different for you. You don't have to do it this way. But I took a teaching and I applied it with prayer, and I know the Lord blessed me in helping me feel better about myself again.

My house may never be pristine like I would like it to be. Things may be left undone for the night. But I know that I am doing my best to work on what needs to be done that day, and I feel good about it. I know the Lord will help us if we just turn to Him with a sincere prayer. He can make us better! And because of this, I hope I am becoming better.

Merry (early) Christmas to you folk. I hope you enjoy your holiday season!

Talk About Hair...

...if I ever did see hair. And boy did I see hair! 

She's got almost a nice looking mullet going on there, doesn't she?

:)

Hailey...

...is small.

Let me rephrase that. She is TINY. Teeny teeny tiny.

I took her in yesterday because she was sick. Excited to see her be weighed and measured. I think it's been about a month since we took her in for her rash, and she was 13lbs even. I knew she had grown, so I couldn't wait to see what her weight was going to be!

Do you want to guess? Do you even want to try??

Baby Hailey, 9 months old, weighs 13lbs 2oz. She is 26 inches long. I looked up a chart online. For weight, she is 0.1% !!! And height is 3%. That's comforting.

I just love my teeny tiny little girl!!

And yes, I have actually considered the possibility of dwarfism. But that is mostly genetic (which there is none on either side) and her limbs are completely proportional. She's just small. That's all there is to it. Scott's great-grandmother was about 4'9" and my great-grandmother was about the same. Both under 5 feet. So anyway. She is wonderful and I love her no matter how small she is!

Catching Up: Halloween/Thanksgiving/Disneyland/9 Months Old

Halloween:
Have I ever told you how much I love Halloween? This year, I dressed up as a character from a "Dr Who" episode named...Nancy! I think I might just dress up as famous Nancy's and that way I'll have my costumes set for the next couple years! Scott was the 12th Doctor, meaning we don't know how the 12th doctor is going to look so for all we know, he could wear jeans and a plaid jacket! And Hailey was my crowning glory...a flamingo! I got the tutu from my friend Stacey, but you bet your bottom dollar I made that hat! It turned out so great! We visited both Grandmas and just had a fun time hanging out with our family.

Thanksgiving:
Thanksgiving was a very nice, relaxing day. Well, not for poor Scotty! He had to work at 7am until 11. He came home, we went up to eat with my family, and he was right back to work at 6pm, working clear through the night until 6am. Poor Scotty. I'm so glad he didn't get trampled in the Black Friday madness! I didn't go shopping this year - had no desire to. I spent the rest of the evening relaxing with my family, watching movies and just having fun. Unfortunately, I only have one picture! I sure do love Thanksgiving and I don't think I ever say enough just how grateful I am for my family, the Gospel, and all I have around me, every day of my life.

Disneyland!!!
And next comes the greatest news of all - we went to Disneyland!! We left the Sunday after Thanksgiving...and realized it was absolutely the worst time to drive to California ever. We got stuck in traffic for 3 hours!!! My, uh, little joke of "It's 6 hours from Primm" turned out to not be a joke but more of a curse. Sorry! The kids did so great though, and we ended up making it to Anaheim in one piece! We spent 4 FANTASTIC days in Disneyland. I rode a lot of new rides that I never had before, and ate a lot of yummy food! By the end of the trip, I was sure glad to get home, but I will still say that I had so much fun and it was such a nice, relaxing, very much-needed vacation. I love being out and about all day having fun and then coming back to the hotel to relax with your family. There aren't too many pictures, but that's mostly because I was too busy having fun! Also, Disneyland with a baby...well, I will definitely try not to ever do it again (too much work changing diapers and mixing bottles and always having to hold them because they can't walk yet), but Hailey actually did REALLY well and it really wasn't that bad. Next time we come, hopefully our youngest will be old enough to eat normal people food (no way am I packing all that baby food/formula in again!) and walk by themselves. All in all though, great trip.

Stopped at Burger King in Baker. There was mega traffic through that area!

First day waiting to get into the park! It's all decked out for Christmas!

Hailey was a really good girl and took her naps in the park.

Delicious all-you-can-eat BBQ at Big Thunder Ranch in Critter Town...worth every penny.

Then (2010) and now (2012). What a difference!

Then and now. Love the airplane!

Can you tell Hailey loved Disneyland!

The castle all decked out for Christmas.

Then and now!

9 Months Old:
And last but not least, Hailey turned 9 months old while we were in Disneyland! I can't believe she is getting so old and cute and smart and amazing. Her hair is longer than ever, she can FINALLY sit-sit by herself, she likes to pull herself up on her feet but can't stand on her own just yet. She can pick up small pieces (mostly food, but sometimes other things too!) and stick them in her mouth. She highly dislikes her baby food and would much rather eat and feed herself real people food instead. Thus, I am trying to shop with her more in mind and prepare ahead of time so she can actually have table food. She talks and babbles and hums and sings constantly. Today I even got her to whisper in church! She knows when we take things away from her and criiies and screeeams. Enter...tantrum stage 1. Still in Size 2 diapers and some clothes ranging from 3-6 month to even some random 12 month footsie pajamas. She is still skinny as ever, but growing nonetheless. I would guess she weighs about 14 lbs. Her doctor said no more visits until a year, so I guess we won't see how much she really weighs until first part of March :-s. What a privilege and stressful time it is to be a mom. I love it, wouldn't trade it for anything. Sorry about the times that I complain. I am very happy, and I can't wait for Hailey's first Christmas!

So Interesting

The Lord works in ways that are so interesting.

Have you ever thought about it? I mean, have you ever really sat down and thought about it? I've just seen today for myself how interesting the Lord's hand is.

You know, when the Lord wants you back, He's gonna get you back and you won't really get to say much about it, except by then you'll probably be so tired and miserable that you just want to leave this Earth anyway and won't really be in the mood for arguing.

And sometimes, He'll do it in ways that you just know that this is the Lord's hand working. To watch someone be diagnosed and then 6 weeks later are gone, you know that the Lord wanted His servant back to do His work on the other side. And remember when those trees randomly fell over and killed two people in South Fork up Provo Canyon? No explaination at all? Sometimes the Lord just needs His people back.

Don't you ever get jealous when you see your loved ones called back sooner than you? Lucky them they don't have to face this world. Lucky them they get to start the missionary work on the other side already.

Oh well. I am happy for him, and sad for us. I am so grateful I got to meet him and know him. What a wonderful man.

We miss and love you already, Vaughn Squires. Til we meet again!

Dear Hailey,

I'm sorry I lost all your pictures.

I'm sorry I wasn't smart enough to back up each picture that I took as soon as I took it.

I thought about it every time I looked through pictures. I knew this had happened to people before. I knew I needed to back up all my pictures, but I just kept telling myself that I will do it later. When I have more time, I will do it later.

And now they are lost forever. NICU. Videos of hiccups. Carseat tests. Tiny little baby with air tubes in her nose. Growing up. Getting slowly bigger. Pictures that daddy wouldn't even have. Pictures that only mommy would take while we spent time together.

Videos. Happy Hailey. Hair-do's. Getting cuter. Silly things like crawling into your carseat and ontop of the box of wipes.

It's all gone, and I am so sorry.

Now just leave mommy alone for a little bit while she goes and cries.

Hi Friends.

These last couple weeks have been so crazy. Never before since I've been married, probably, have I had this many things going on every single night of the week. And I'm not even in school!

I'm trying not to feel stressed. I'm trying to be grateful I have my calling and to see the blessings it has already brought into my life. I am trying to be grateful that I am a mom and that I shouldn't complain that when I have so many errands to run and things to do at home, the baby is just another thing to pack up or keep away from my stuff.

My to-do list keeps getting longer and longer. And Hailey is sleeping and I know that this is the only chance for me to even think about getting anything done.

Not to mention I keep avoiding/putting off something that I know I probably ought to be, and even can be, working on? I told him I'd do a little bit for now but since I am so busy, I just have to put it off til January. I really feel bad because I know it helps him out, but I'm sorry. I just can't sit down and work on this right now when I have soooo much to do. I know everybody has "soooo much to do", but please, I would really appreciate a break right now until I'm ready to really tackle it.

But you guys. I am so happy. I am incredibly happy. This year, I actually feel it. I can feel the spirit of the season and it brings back happy memories of being young and going around Barnes and Noble and Burlington Coat Factory Christmas shopping. I can't wait! to go Christmas shopping for Hailey. I know she won't really appreciate the gifts we give her yet, but I still can't wait to say that I bought her stuff for Christmas and to be like those other moms who say, "It's Thanksgiving and I already have my Christmas shopping done." Oh, I do hope so!

And even though I am stressed out as heck about Young Women in Excellence tonight, a program which I only got planned just a week ago, and which I did not have time to put anything fancy together and I really hope will be ok since we're not really doing any musical numbers or anything....I just pray that we will be able to get the point across, that Personal Progress is important and that that is how these Young Women can go to the temple and return to their Heavenly Father.

So I know I need to get off the computer. That's a bad distraction. I'll leave you with this for today, and maybe eventually I'll update you with September/October pictures.

And a little prayer would be nice. And also pray for all the people affected by Sandy, pray for my brother in Afghanistan, and pray for our country that we may stay UNITED and strong and trust in God to help us through these hard and trying times.

Happy Tuesday!

8 Months Old

So remember how forever ago I had written about how someday soon Hailey will be sitting? We have finally hit that someday soon! Ok, she's not entirely sitting yet, but she's close enough that I can pretty much just say she is sitting! I remember thinking upon Halloween as soon as Hailey was born and that she would be 8 months old by then (wow!) and would be sitting and be so big! Well, we're getting there! Happy Eight Months, Hailey, and congratulations on accomplishing your first of the major holidays to come this season!

Weight: We had to take her in for a rash about 3 weeks ago, I'd say. The verdict...13 pounds. Come on, Hailey! Let's get this show on the road! We've only got 4 months left until you're a year old and we want to at least get past 15!

Diapers: So that means that her diapers are still struggling. Well, not to mention she has the TINIEST butt ever! I kid you not. I dare you to find a smaller butt. We're in transition between 1 and 2 right now, depending on the brand, really. Luvs 2 fit better than Parent's Choice 2, and I never buy Pampers or Huggies because they are too expensive. But she can still just as easily keep wearing her 1's in any brand except Luvs (they just run small, I've realized). I think I started buying 2's just hoping that she will some day get bigger. I'm sick of buying a small pack of 1's again thinking that soon she'll be in 2's. I wasted a lot of money on small packs when I could have just been buying big boxes, but then again, they hardly sell big boxes of 1's for the cheaper brands (except I realized, a little late, online), and each time I thought of buying a big box of 1's, I thought that maybe, just maybe, she'll grow out of them before we'd be able to finish that box. Am I rambling? Yes. But there you go. That is my dilemma with diapers.

I'd also like to mention, though, that 1-50pack cheap diapers + 1-50pack cheap diapers = 100 and less expensive still than buying Pampers or Huggies for only 94 diapers. The end.

Sitting: I've been hoping and praying and praying and hoping that she would be sitting all on her own by this time! And I don't mean hanging out on her hips. I mean full on sitting on her bum without any help of her arms. She's getting there, she really is! She can do it with a little help from us. We just have to show her what to do and hopefully she'll pick up quickly. And she really has been picking up quickly. 

Standing: She can hold herself up if we gently support her or let her hold onto the couch or the back of the church pew. She also has started pulling herself up onto her knees. She's been getting into her toy box more because she can actually reach up and look into it. Also, she loooooves playing with her carseat because now she can climb up into it and play with the buckles.

Talking: She sure can jabber! I've definitely heard "mama" and "dada" in there. The "mama" more so only because she just absolutely loves to cry as soon as she sees me and immediately starts making her way toward me and says "Ma" or "mama" while doing so. She also loves to sing and just makes all sorts of noises.

Eating: She's well into eating solids. I can definitely say that she much prefers to chew things than the thin, soupy, baby food that comes pureed in a jar. Lately, I've been feeding her thick cereal to help her eat her baby food better, but then that's been really constipating her. I'm slowly trying to get her to eat her baby food plain now. But yes, she'd much rather have a chunk in her mouth that she can just mash up and down. She can pick up big pieces, like cereal or yogurt drops, and she can put them in her mouth. She loves to feed herself. I tried to let her eat pear pieces, but they were too slippery for her to hold. Alas, her fiber will still come from the soupy spoon, but we're working on it!

We're also still on formula, of course. I've been getting Parent's Choice Advantage (which is the same as Similac Advance Shield) but the other day I decided to get the Premium/Enfamil one. She takes them either way, but I did notice that the formula itself is less sticky. Other than that, I think I still prefer the Advantage. And she'll take actual Similac brand, but it gives her a rash around her mouth.

Clothing Size: We are just barely getting into 6-9, but once again, only depending on the brand. Her jammies, actually, are about into the 9 months, but that is because she is so long! She is by no means fat enough to fill them out, but length-wise, it's about all we can do, really. Although, I am kind of hoping she doesn't grow out too soon because the pants that I have for her right now are all so cute!

Teeth: She has two!! Two little-bitty bottom ones! And boy has she been cranky. Scott's mom says her top gums have been swollen. Oh boy. We cannot put this little girl down without the world ending. But I'm not going to lie when I say I sure do love the cuddles!

I love my little girl!

Sisters, Sisters!

Sisters, sisters! 
There were never such devoted sisters, 
Never had to have a chaperone, no sir, 
I'm there to keep my eye on her 
Caring, sharing 
Every little thing that we are wearing 
When a certain gentleman arrived from Rome 
She wore the dress, and I stayed home 
All kinds of weather, we stick together 
The same in the rain and sun 
Two different faces, but in tight places 
We think and we act as one 
Those who've seen us 
Know that not a thing could come between us 
Many men have tried to split us up, but no one can 
Lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister 
And Lord help the sister, who comes between me and my man!

I love my sisters so much. Here's to a photo dump of pictures with my bestest friends ever.