Blogging seems so passe. I'm guessing my 2013 blog book will be pretty slim. I like blogging, I think it's a positive thing, so I'm going to keep at it. Even if, it isn't the "popular" thing to do anymore.
To begin with... Having a two year old is difficult! They get in to everything. Their curiosity makes them naughty little monsters. For the past year, Elsa has been demonstrating this to me, on a daily basis.
A few weeks ago, she painted Cohen in lotion. He loved it!
Loved it so much, in fact, that he did it to himself yesterday. Before this, I had no idea he could twist open the lid to the lotion. Yesterday was also the day that Elsa finally figured out how to twist door handles hard enough to open doors. This morning, I found that she had exited her bedroom, opened the door to Cohen's room, and climbed in to the crib with him.
Talk about harsh realizations! Just as one child grows out of the terrible-twos, the next one is hot on her tail. Heaven help me! I do feel lucky that Cohen is turning in to a relatively mellow guy. The pediatrician warned me that Cohen was of the age when temper tantrums are commonplace. But, unlike the girls, Cohen isn't a big temper-tantrum thrower (knock on wood). He is very easygoing.
He started going to Nursery class, at our church, two weeks ago. I was terribly worried about how he'd react to going. After all, he is a total "mama's boy". I told Nick that I feel like Cohen has an umbilical cord made of titanium! But Cohen surprised me, and has gone to Nursery without a fuss. In fact, I think he really likes it. At Cohen's 18 month well-child appointment, I mentioned to Dr. Swensen my concerns about Cohen. IE- his massive preference to crawl, rather than walk; and his lack of verbal communication. Cohen is awesome at sign language, but not at speaking. Dr. Swensen said that, for now, we'll say that Cohen is a late bloomer.
Reagan went to a Fancy-Nancy themed birthday party. It's shocking to me, how grown-up she is getting. I took her pictures before the party, and she wanted to pose for all of them.
It's no secret. I've missed living in Seattle. Nick and I both miss our friends/"pharmacy family". This past winter, nearly put me over the edge. The snow, and cold was too much. I felt very isolated. More than ever before, I was ready to move. Reagan would ask to have a play-date almost every day, and I struggled to find someone for her to play with. It seemed that the little girls, her age, in the neighborhood had already paired off with one another, and Reagan was the odd man out. It was heartbreaking for me!
I love that my girls play together. I want them to be best friends. The hardest part of the day was when Elsa would go down for a nap, because then Reagan really had no one to play with.
Yes. I was 100% ready to hightail it out of Utah.
It weighed heavily on my heart, and I prayed about it a lot.
Then, I feel like the sun came out. Literally, and figuratively. Our little neighborhood warmed up. We got to know several families that moved in to the new subdivision across the street from us, and that has been wonderful. Also, I got to know a neighborhood Mommy (Karen L.), that has a daughter (Evia), Reagan's age, and a son (Seth) Cohen's age. Reagan and Evia play together all of the time now. It has been an answer to prayers!
We got invited to a play-date with Karen, and some of the Mom's across the street. We went to the Trampoline Park. It was a blast! That place is so awesome!
More on me: In the past year I've lost 30 pounds. The past two months I seem to have hit a plateau. It doesn't bother me terribly. I know it's because my work-out routine isn't diverse, and my fat intake is too high. There isn't a donut I can ever refuse! I may get back to being more strict in my diet... But right now, I'm really OK with my outward appearance. I feel better than I have in years, and I like the way I look.
I'm working a lot more on my "inward self". Because I love my husband so much, I decided that I wanted to make one last-ditch effort to mend the rocky relationship I have with his parents. I put a lot of time and thought in to what I could do? I talked to Nick's Mom- face to face. I told her that I wanted to be on friendly terms with her, and I proposed that she and I get together on a regular basis and do genealogy for the Scheurer side of the family. We've done this twice, since I originally spoke to her, and there has been an improvement in our feelings toward each other. Love can build a bridge. Truly.
Nick is amazing. I want to be a better person, because I want to feel like I deserve him. I am very lucky that he is forgiving, and overlooks my faults. I wish my PMS weren't so extreme. I am so quick to anger, and it's really bad when I am PMS'ing. Nick usually gets the brunt of my fury. I'm honestly surprised he's stuck with me through all of it?! It is something I will have to work on for the rest of my life, I'm sure. I hate that I make him feel like he can do nothing right, and that I know just what to say to hurt him. There are days when I can be a really crappy wife. I'm working on changing that. Right now, I'm reading Dr. Laura's Woman Power. It makes my faults even more glaringly obvious. But I'm determined to change, and to become the partner that Nick deserves.
I'm also determined to get my spending under control. It's another aspect of life that I struggle with. It is one thing I know I can conquer, with a little will power, though.
My teeth and hair are spectacular, and are some of my favorite things about myself. Now, I just need to bring my shortcomings up to snuff, and put them on the same level as my superior qualities.
