Time

Do you ever wonder where the time goes? I do. All the time. I used to think time went by so slowly. . .like when I was in school. I was always wanting and waiting for the school year to end. Then when it did end Summer flew by. It was always over before I was ready to go back to school. Maybe that means that time flies when you're having fun!? I think I've heard that saying before! :) I believe it. When Ben was on his mission time did NOT fly by. Perhaps it was because I wasn't having fun. Now here I am 14 years later and it seems like it's gone by in a flash. Sheesh! It's been two years since I last posted on this blog! How did that happen? I don't like it.

Can I say, totally off topic, that I also hate that when I learned to type you did two spaces after a period. Ben informed me that that has changed. Now you only do one space. I don't like that either. It's not a very easy thing to change! Seriously!

So anyway, in the last two years so much has happened that I really just don't know where to begin.  Most importantly, we had another baby girl. Her name is Lila Kate. She was born on July 8, 2012. She is in the top five of the cutest kids ever. I personally know the other four on that list as well. ;) I just love her! With that being said. . .I'm also done. Done, done, done. I really don't want any more kids. Lila didn't make me feel this way. She is an awesome baby. I just don't feel like I want any more. I feel like I've reached my maximum load. After each of my children were born I knew we were going to have another. I don't feel that way this time.  Ben agrees with me and he will most likely get snipped at the beginning of next year. Nothing says permanent quite like that.

How about a quick update on everyone?

Ben is wonderful. Seriously. He's amazing. I don't know how he does everything that he is required to do. He gives 100% to everything. . .family, church, job. All of it. Right now he is a member of the high council in our stake. It keeps him busy on Sundays. Really busy. It is nice, though, to not have the weekday and occasional weekend responsibilities that went along with being the YM president. Ben loves his job and has a great boss (Randy Hughes) who he looks up to and admires. He is also an awesome dad. Our kids adore him and are thrilled when he comes home from work. I am blessed to be his wife.

I am just me. Nothing hugely new. I did complete P90X and I'm currently attempting Insanity. I say attempting because it is a bear! Sometimes I can't even finish the workout. There is a significantly noticeable difference in the way I look. I still weigh more than I'd like but Ben says I need to not pay attention to the number on the scale. I know he's right. . .but I can't get past that way-to-high number staring at me. I am scheduled to have Lasik eye surgery at the beginning of January. I have mixed feeling about this. I'm excited to not have to wear contacts or glasses but terrified that the surgery is on my eyes. I have nightmares about something going wrong and I'm left blinded for the rest of my life. . .it makes me a bit apprehensive. In August Ben and I went on a kid-free vacation to Disney World! We flew my mom out here to watch the kids and we escaped for a week. I wouldn't recommend going to Disney World in August. . .ever, but it was very fun and very relaxing. Being there made me want to go again. . .with the kids. :)

Simon is now 9 1/2 years old. He was accepted into the AIG (Academically and Intellectually Gifted) Program at school. He really loves it. He enjoys being one of the smart kids at school. (I wonder who he got that from?) He also started doing the Let Me Run program for boys in fourth and fifth grade. They run after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and run a 5K in December. Ben and I have noticed that Simon has been getting a little sweet around the midsection so we decided that we needed to be more healthy as a family. I am really proud of Simon. He has taken this challenge full on. He is choosing healthier snacks and the days he doesn't run at school he rides his bike for two miles. He really is a good kid. I wish I had some of his and his fathers "go get 'em" personality. He is also my best helper. He helps me clean and enjoys helping with dinner. He does anything I ask him to do. . .all the time. I have to be careful not to take advantage of that. Simon loves Lila to bits. It is really heart warming to watch how sweet he is with her. Gosh I just love that kid. I really hope he stays this way. Only four more years and he'll be a teenager. I'm learning all too well how fast that amount of time goes by. :( I'm terrified of that. . .him being a teenager. Well, not just him. I'm absolutely terrified for all of my kids to be teenagers. That's a topic for another day though.

My Nolan Boy is awesome. He has been doing basketball every year and plans to do it again this year. He does really well in school. He's a great reader and loves math. . .another thing they get from their father. Nolan didn't get the "go get 'em" attitude but he's still a good kid.  He just takes a little more. . .pushing. He is getting baptized in a month! Yikes! I love that he is excited about that. My Nolan is a funny boy who loves to be silly and have fun. He likes to take things apart and likes to collect garbage. No, really. He asks for every box or juice container or milk jug or anything that looks like something he might be able to make something out of or put a stuffed animal in. It's kind of cute. I love when he gets excited about something and his eyes light up and he gets a big grin on his face. He also has THE best laugh. Ever.

Bella turned six not long ago. She has been taking dance lessons and played soccer one season. She's probably better at soccer than the boys are. It was funny, today the kids all wanted to run from the end of our neighborhood to our house. It's a full mile. Nolan ran 1/4 of the way and got mad that Bella was in front of him and was running more than him so he stopped and got in the car.  He said that Bella was cheating because she would look back and if she saw him running she would start running so she could stay ahead. Nolan couldn't catch her and he didn't like it. Bella ran 3/4 of the way before her side started hurting. She was in the lead the entire time. Poor Nolan couldn't handle Bella being faster than him. So, Bella is a fast, strong, athletic girl! At her well-child visit she was in the 95th percentile for weight and height. Her doctor said she is proportional, so there's nothing to worry about. She's as strong as an ox. She loves to dance and LOVES to listen to music. We are going to have to get that girl and ipod or something for Christmas. Bella loves school and is above grade level in reading and math. She has the best personality. . .so fun and full of life. She still whines. . .all the time. . .but she is improving every day. I guess that's all you can ask of a six year old.

Malia is so sweet. She is starting to get a little attitude (she's three and female. . .it's to be expected.) but most of the time she is a joy to be around. She started dancing and loves every minute of it. I was a proud mamma watching my girls dancing on stage. :) I also do Joy School with Malia. It's a group of women from my ward who take turns having "preschool" at their houses. Malia loves going to her friends' houses. She really is a friendly girl. I've never seen her be mean to another kid. She is always so loving and inviting. She has always called herself 'Mia.' She couldn't say the L in there, so she just said Mia. Now we all call her Mia too. Lately Ben has been saying "Mia - the gol darn - Karen" when he talks to her so she calls herself "Mia golf Karen." She is so cute. I really need to be better about blogging because she says some pretty funny stuff.

Last but not least, we have Lila Kate. That's what we call her too. . .Lila Kate. Well, Bella calls her Sweets or Sweet Toad. The kids love her to death. As a result, she is spoiled rotten. She's the baby of the family so that probably goes without saying. She has strawberry blonde hair and has the personality of a fiery red-head. She is also an ABSOLUTE momma's girl. It's the best. I secretly love that she only wants me sometimes and as soon as she sees me she runs to me. I secretly love to hold her at night and sing her songs until she falls asleep. Unfortunately I didn't do that enough with my other babies. I wanted them to get into a good sleeping routine. When it was bed time, they went in their crib and didn't get out until bedtime was over. . .unless they were sick. . .I'm not THAT mean.

We also got a kitten. Her name is Alexa. I always told the kids that they weren't having a pet of any kind. We've had fish, birds, a cat, a dog. . .even a ghost crab. I was done with pets. Only. . .I wasn't. I remember being mad at my mom because she would never let us have a pet. My brother, Ryan got to have a dog. Three dogs, actually. But nobody else ever got to have one. I'm sure she knew that nobody else would take care of their pet like Ryan took care of his dogs. I didn't realize that at the time and it made me mad. If I stew over it long enough, my inner child comes out and I still feel slighted. I know, I know. . .that's pathetic. I'm not angry about it anymore. Really. My experience does make me want to keep my kids from feeling that way. I've never liked cats but that's the only animal I'm willing to have, so we have one. She is very sweet and loves to come sit with me at night while Ben and I are watching TV. Now she is the only cat I like. :)

That's not a very thorough update, but it will have to do. It's amazing to me how much can change in two years. Two years is really not that long! I think this whole time thing hit me not too long ago. Maybe when, after much fasting and prayer and tears (my tears) Ben and I decided that Lila Kate would be our last. Something about that stage in life ending is hard.  I won't be pregnant again. I won't be holding another new born that I call my own. There's no more cheering on a baby learning to crawl or walk or say their first words. There's no more first birthdays to celebrate. It makes me sad. So now I hold Lila and watch her sleep and go get her if she wakes up at night. I'm sure I'll pay for it later.  She'll be my worst sleeper. . .but I just don't care.  Bella has been waking up in the middle of the night, coming in our room and sleeping on our floor right by me. I probably shouldn't let her do it. I can hear the argument in my head. She'll get in the habit and not want to sleep in her own room. I really just don't care. I love that she wants to come be by me. That's not going to last forever. I'm pretty sure that when she's fourteen and hates me she won't be coming in my room. So, for now, I'll hold my baby as often as I like. I'll let my Mae Mae sleep on my floor. I'll sing to Simon and Nolan every night until they ask me to stop and I'll take a nap with Malia anytime she asks me to. Sadly, NONE of these things last forever. Time goes on. . .way to fast. I am certainly having fun so that must be why it seems to go by even faster. I have a lot to be thankful for. . .and I am!