Keeping Busy

So I think I must have some condition or problem...I always need to be busy, have things going on, be looking forward to something, just making progress in general. A few months ago I really didn't have much going on and I was eager to figure out something to do. I am so excited for this fall, here's what we have going on:

I am beginning a Preschool-way exciting! Check it out at www.beyondbasicspreschool.blogspot.com

I am coaching Tommy's soccer team-so looking forward to it, should be hilarious!

I am studying to become a fitness instructor-a little apprehensive about the test, but I'm sure it will be fine.

I am taking piano lessons. I have been taking since April and have a lesson just once a month and am loving it! (I took piano lessons for about seven years as a kid and unfortunately became a teenager who was adamant to not play anymore. But I'm happy to say that it is coming back quickly. My mom was sure to rub in the fact that I could have kept taking piano lessons for free as a kid but I was too stubborn, I know Mom, I was wrong, you were right.)

Tommy is going to come to my preschool but also to another preschool (he has always been a bit shy and I think it will be good for him to go out of our home for some of his education).

Tommy is also doing gymnastics at Flip's.

Madison, well, Maddie will be taking naps, eating, sleeping, etc. Oh, and being toted about to all of the family events.

Brayten...hmmm, what is Brayten going to be doing. Ah, I remember, it's Fall...he'll be hunting most of the time but I still love him anyway.

So it's going to be busy...just what I like.

Tommy's Tooth Trauma

Since Tommy was tiny, just able to toddle about, every time he has fallen he always hits his mouth. He often had a fat lip while he was learning to use his legs well. When he was about eighteen months he fell at my sister's house and hit his mouth on her buried trampoline frame. Unfortunately his tooth, the he had hit over and over again, finally gave up the ghost. The tooth died and was a lovely shade of gray.


Well a couple of weeks ago Tommy was playing at his buddy's house. They both like to take the cushions off of the couches in the basement and proceed to jump into the cushions from the couches. Tommy didn't display his best judgement and ended up jumping on to his friend Luke. He hit his mouth on Luke's head. Luckily Luke has a pretty tough head and didn't have any problems but unlucky for Tommy his mouth had a bit of trauma.






Tommy came up the stairs with his mouth bleeding saying, "It was an accident, I said sorry!" Apparently he was a bit worried he was going to get in trouble. Well fortunately it was the same tooth that has had a most unfortunate history. After a trip to the dentist and an x-ray we saw that the tooth was fractured above the gum line. So we scheduled an appointment to have it removed.

Honestly I was so nervous about it. I was nervous because I had to give him a sedative. I was nervous that he would be in pain. I was nervous that my sweet little boy would look a bit goofy after he got his tooth pulled. Well dooms day came...I let Tommy eat whatever food he wanted. He chose Lucky Charms for breakfast and a cheese quesadilla for lunch (his favorite absolute favorite thanks to his Daddy for introducing this healthy food). We went to the store and bought him a movie to watch when we got home. Then I gave him his, in his words, really yucky sedative and began the drive to Sandy for his appointment. I watched him in the rear view mirror as we drove. I saw my little three year old becoming more and more slap happy, it was hilarious, he was a drunk little man. He began unabashedly dancing and giggling.


We stopped by Grandpa's work and dropped Madison off to my sister-in-law (thank you Juneal for helping me out). Grandpa and Uncle Russ gave Tommy a blessing and we continued on our journey. We were almost to the dentist's office when Tommy looked where Maddie usually sits and exclaimed in his drunken state, "MOM!!! YOU LEFT MADDIE!" He was so concerned. I explained that Juneal had her and he was just fine.

We got to the dentist's. They put some laughing gas on him, turned on cartoons in the ceiling, I held his little hand, out came the pliers and out came his tooth. He was so brave! And amid all of my nervousness it was fine, everything was fine, and he doesn't even look too goofy. Now I just have to figure out how to protect his other teeth.

Memorial Day, City Creek 2010

The Wilding's have an awesome family tradition, we celebrate Memorial Day up City Creek Canyon. We have done this my whole life, in fact I learned yesterday that the Wilding's have been going to City Creek every year for the past 38 years. It is always so much fun and a good time to see all of the family and be reminded of everyone's names. Not really, but almost. There are a ton of us. My grandparents had nine children. Most of those nine had quite a few children themselves...Actually let me count. Dave had six, Dan had four, Tom had three, Wade had four, Steve had two, Shirley had four, Collette had six, Karen had five, and Wendy had five. So that is 39 first cousins. We are all growing up now and having children of our own. Much to say the least the Wilding's are procreating faster than we are dying off. So it is a lot of people but a lot of fun!

Tommy had a blast! He is such a boy...He loves anything and everything that makes him dirty or stinky. He actually caught his first two fish ever and was absolutely ecstatic! In fact he loved those fish so much that he said he wanted to hang them on his wall. Oh boy...that would look really nice. We actually ended up with a lot of tears as we cooked up those trout for dinner. We did make a compromise though and told him we would hang a picture of him with his fish on his wall. So hopefully that satisfies him for the time being. Unfortunately it appears that Brayten has done irreparable damage to our little guy and he will inevitably be a hill-billy.

Anyway, City Creek was a blast... I'm already looking forward to next year.

Looking for something...

So here we are...home again! Back to just two kids, my own house, no van. Life is good. However, I am finding that I enjoy my life a bit more when I am running around busy, busy, busy. I'm not sure what I should do but I am finding that facing the same tasks day after day gets a bit, well, boring.

Brayten asks me each day, "What are you going to do today?" Often it is the same answer. We find ourselves cleaning the house, laundry, playing, dishes, and playing again. Mix in a few diaper changes, a bit of crying, possible whining, and that is my day.

Now I don't want you to think that I do not enjoy myself as a mom, I absolutely love it! But I feel a bit stagnant. My brain is on vacation and is ready to get back to work. I don't know what to do. I need to make the opportunity to occupy myself with something every once in a while and I am not sure what to do.

So for the time being I will keep looking...I'll let you know when I find it.

Boise Blast!

A couple of months ago my brother called me and asked a big favor. Would I mind coming to his house and watching his girls while he and his wife went on a trip to Israel? Of course he gave me time to think about my decision...and of course I said yes. I actually have a fatal flaw, an inability to say no to much of anything. So I said yes... As I was preparing for this adventure I was a bit apprehensive, well more than a bit I was extremely nervous. Five children...one adult...I knew I would be a bit out numbered.

But alas we've now been here a week with one week to go. And while I miss my hubby, like crazy, I'm glad I said yes. We are having a great time and Tommy is loving his cousins, a bit too much sometimes (they are starting to act like siblings). But all in all it has been successful.

I have learned one thing though with five women in the house it is kind of like an extended session of beauty parlor. I've had to watch You Tube to learn how to do hair, it has been way fun. I find that I love it when a six year old thinks her hair is, "way, way, way cute!" I get self esteem when my twelve year old neice comes home from school and said, "Even the adults commented on my hair today and how cool it was!" I have also learned that I am more adept at creating mohawks than pig tails but I need the practice, eventually Maddie will need a stylist, but for now she is a member of the bald club.

Well it has been a lot of fun and unfortunately for my neices I've had to corrupt them with my obsession with American Idol...I love it, I admit it...too much. It was cute though my twelve year old neice said last night as we were engulfed with AI, "Hey that lady sounds like Dori." I thought it was great that I could say, "That is Dori!" They were all so excited. Then my six year old neice said, "Steph you can sing really good probably because you watch this show all the time." Well...hmmmm...I'm not totally sure American Idol has helped me that much with my singing but I love it, I love it, I love it.

Anyway, for now, all is well in Boise...I did have my brother write down the address to the emergency room just in case though...We are all Wilding's here (even the McGee's have a bit in them) you never know what could happen!

Self Portraits

Being a photographer I have loved as my little guy has been experimenting with a camera for the past year. I have watched as he has taken some pretty remarkable, funny pictures. It is interesting to see the world from a three year old's perspective. Well he has hit a new milestone...he has found the art of self portraiture and wow is he good...

I have about two dozen of these...thank goodness they're digital!

Tommy's First Dentist Appointment

Whoa I can't even believe how fast Tommy is growing up, it makes my heart ache, it is too fast. Slow down little dude! Well another stepping stone of aging...his first dentist appointment on Wednesday, February 17th. He was a brave, stellar stud and survived. He was all smiles throughout the whole appointment and especially when he got a new tooth brush and a prize! But alas, I asked him after how he liked the dentist, he didn't like it, at all. Well at least he can wear a smile all through his trials and luckily no cavities.

Madison's Blessing Day-February 14, 2010

I can't believe that it has already been two months since we had our little Madison. Already I am forgetting what life was like without her. We were able to have her blessed on February 14th. Thanks so much to all of our family and friends for supporting us on this special day. A special thanks to Brayten, I love you babe! Thanks for holding the priesthood, honoring it, and giving Maddie such an amazing blessing.

Lady Gaga???

So you may ask..."Hmmm, why does Steph have Poker Face on her family blog playlist?" Well for an explanation, Poker Face happens to be Tommy's favorite song. He breaks into a frenzied excitement the moment it begins. So everytime I open our blog I get to do a Poker Face dance with Tom, it's so funny. He comes running from where ever he is in the house yelling, "Poker Face, it's Poker Face mom!!!"

I know, I know, what kind of a parent am I?

Our Little Girl

Our little Madison is growing so fast, too fast. Although, to be honest, I can't wait until she starts sleeping through the night consistently. She actually has slept through the night once but then she made up for it the next night by waking up twice. Which really you're probably thinking, two times, that's not a big deal. Well unfortunately Madison struggles with the whole burping thing. So I feed her for about twenty minutes, then I burp her for about thirty minutes, and finally I put her back in her bed where she usually squirms around a bit more because alas I didn't burp her long enough. Usually each feeding session takes me about an hour. So two feedings...that's two hours much missed in the night.

She is a sweet heart though...The best thing is watching Tommy interact with her. A day doesn't go by without Tommy saying, "Mom, I love her so, so, so, so much!" Or, "Mom, I love her tons and tons!" It is very cute. However, yesterday Tommy said, "Mom, when is she going to start playing toys with me?" I think the little man is in dire need of a playmate who is not his mother.

Much to say the least being a mom is awesome, exhausting, frustrating, and on occassion miserable, but awesome. I cherish the good times and attempt to be patient through the rough times. Well I better wrap this up, Tommy is poking my shoulder and asking me to "play blocks" with him. Good times.

Whining...

I frequently find myself frustrated by the continual monotony of life as a mom. I seem to get up each day and as fast as I can I am preparing breakfast, washing dishes, picking up toys, straightening the house, cleaning, laundry, cooking lunch, washing dishes, picking up more toys, more laundry, more cleaning, making dinner, washing dishes, and then the evening routine begins for putting the kidos to bed. I then breathe for a moment, get ready for bed, and collapse into a deep slumber until one or both of my kids wakes me up in the middle of the night.

Tommy frequently says to me, "You're doing dishes again?" like he is totally dismayed at my fate. Dishes, dishes, dishes...

I sometimes find that I enjoy whining about my frustrations rather than counting all of my blessings. Of late I have found a new way of thinking that makes me smile as I am washing another dish, preparing another meal, attempting to tackle the endless supply of laundry, or even dealing with a mischevious three year old while holding a crying infant. Hey at least I have food to prepare, I have dishes to wash, my kids have toys to play with (and they play with them all over the whole entire house), I have clothes that keep me warm but unfortunately get dirty too quickly, I have a sweet family that fills my life with more joy than I had thought was possible. Life is good and I am incredibly blessed.

Happy 2010

I can't believe another year has past...I'm beginning to feel old. Although it is awesome looking through our family pictures from 2009 and remembering all of the fun we had. We had some great camping trips, a vacation to Maui, Brayten got an elk, Tommy grew some more (unfortunately, I would like to press pause with that little guy and have him stay just as he is for a little bit), I survived pregnancy, and our little Madison was born.

It was a great and successful year! I'm looking forward to some more adventures in 2010!