6 years

Today is our 6th wedding anniversary.  Seriously!  I really don't know where that time went.  Sometimes I feel like our first date was only yesterday.  And then I look around at the house, the kids, and my belly and obviously some time has passed.

I put together this little slide show of pictures of us together from the past 6 years.  It's an anniversary present for Brandon, but unfortunately he wont get to see it for a few days.  He's currently "in the box" at Fort Polk and doesn't have access to a computer.  So you guys all get to enjoy it first :)

The hardest part about making that movie was selecting only 60 pictures for it.  (The second hardest part was getting the song into wma format - but that's another story.)  I wanted to take a minute and tell you about some of the pictures.  They uploaded to blogger in a random order, and I don't feel like fixing them, so here is a non-linear rendition of the last six years.

This is from Halloween 2010. Brandon was a mountain man and I was an Indian.  I'm VERY pregnant with the twins in this picture.  I made the costume pattern by tracing some of my maternity shirts.

And here is one year later: Halloween 2011.  Brandon and I were both pirates.  Charlotte was our Parrot and Lydia was our Monkey.  Incidentally, I'm a few months pregnant with Derrick in this picture.

This is from the night Brandon proposed to me, March 2, 2007.  He surprised me with a dinner at the Bluebird to celebrate the 6 month anniversary of when we met.  We were supposed to drive directly to Salt Lake for the weekend right after the dinner, but Brandon "forgot" his laptop.  When we went back to get it at his apartment I walked into a room full of candles.  Then Brandon got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes right away.  Then we drove down to Salt Lake and told our families.

This should look familiar.  This is at the Salt Lake Airport the night Brandon made it home from basic training.  We were so happy to be all together as a family again.

In December of 2006 Brandon and I went on an all day date to the Ogden Area.  We'd spent every day that week together and this was kind of an unofficial test to see if we could still stand each other after spending all day together on top of that.  Brandon took me to the train museum where we both discovered my love of model trains.  I was like a 10 year old kid running around and following the little model train as it moved between display windows.  This picture is on the full size train outside the museum.  (And yes we could still stand each other by the end of the day.)

This is from the girls' blessing day, February 6, 2011.  I'd looked forward to this day for years.  I was so happy to finally hear my husband bless my babies.  I'd made the girls' dresses, and they looked so cute in them.  The day was everything I hoped it would be.

This is our most recent family picture.  I'm not a fan of how I look in it, but I am happy that we are all together (and looking in the direction of the camera.)  Plus through some hand-me-down magic the girls had matching dresses.

Brandon and I used to live right across the street from the A&W in Logan.  On the rare occasions we went out to eat we usually went there.  This picture is from when we went back to visit Logan in the spring of 2011.  Of course we had to go eat at A&W.  I crave rootbeer every time I see this picture.

This is from the second camping trip we took the girls on.  We were at Deer Creek Res as part of our Northern Utah Stay-cation in 2011.  Our tent was snowed on during the night.  The girls slept beside us all night long, but we brought them into bed with us in the morning.

One of the happiest days of my life was when Brandon graduated from USU.  We were finally able to cut all ties to the flight department - and still escape with a degree.

I love this picture of all of us at a Special Care Nursery Reunion.  I remember seeing Charlotte and Lydia each in one of these beds when I saw them for the first time.  In those early days it was hard to imagine that one day they would be healthy, running around, and talking.  But that's just what happened.

Here we all are on top of Mt Evens in 2012.  I can't believe we took Derrick along on this vacation when he was only 3 months old.  He was so big he seemed older.

For our second anniversary in 2009 we went to Southern California.  One of the main things we wanted to do was spend a day at Magic Mountain.  Here we are in front of the gate for the park.

We also went to the beach as part of that vacation.  We slept in our tent in a campsite that was right on the edge of a cliff over looking the ocean.  It is one of my top 10 favorite things we've ever done together.

This is Halloween 2009.  We were Robin Hood and Maid Marian.  We had so much fun making these costumes.  This was the first year that Brandon sported the shirt that he wore as part of his costume every subsequent year.

Soon after we were engaged my dad took us on a photo shoot at Murray Park.  This is my favorite picture from that shoot.  I printed it out and glued it to the cover of the book that I kept all my wedding notes in.

For our first anniversary we went to Yellowstone.  That's what kicked off the annual road trip tradition. Here we are in front of the Grand Prismatic Spring.

This is from our wedding announcement photo shoot.  We made it pretty clear from the beginning that aviation was a big part of our marriage.  The plane is the first one I flew in with Brandon as the pilot.  

And here is a picture from our reception, which was 6 years ago tomorrow.  I loved that we were married on one day and had the reception on another.  Everything about our reception was wonderful.  Brandon and I planned it together.  It's when I first realized how well we work together.

Six years ago I thought I loved Brandon a lot.  But that was nothing compared to how much I love him now. I'm so glad we go married.  I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.

PS: I'm at my sister's house and flowers from Brandon were just delivered to the door.  I love that guy.

Staying Busy

Well, we are half way through!  So far this has been a much better separation than basic training or NTC.  I'm able to talk to Brandon on the phone every night.  And every morning he sends me a text telling me how much he loves me and that he hopes I have a good day.

We got out of the house and went on a few play dates and trips to the store, but for the most part the kids have been really content to stay home and chill out.  The girls have also pretty much turned into nudists this week.  They've enjoyed running around in just their pullups all day long.  I pretend that this helps with potty training, but there really hasn't been that much potty training going on.  In reality I'm just too lazy to wrestle them into clothes.

Our days at home have been nice.  Here are the things that we have been up to this week.

Derrick loves soft pushy blankets.  He will carry them around the house.  When he gets tired he loves to rub his face in them.  The other day he fell asleep on a blanket on the floor during the 9 millionth viewing of Up.

During Derrick's naps the girls and I usually go into the office and do a project.  I've been working on cutting old T-shirts into blocks for a T-shirt quilt.  I keep the girls occupied by letting them play with various things.  The other day I made them a little play house out of the desk, chair, a blanket, and some pieces of cardboard.

They loved it and brought all their babies and bears into the "house."  Here is Lydia at the "window."  She'd sit by this window and ask for all the leftover pieces of T-shirt cloth.

We've also spent a lot of time outside.  Derrick learned how to climb up into the little lawn chairs.  He loves sitting in them.  He also loves trying to climb up the back which lead to one fairly nasty fall.  Luckily he only had a small bruise and a few little cuts.  I've learned to keep the chairs on the grass.

The girls insist on sleeping on the floor almost every night.  I'm just fine with that because at least they are in their rooms.

The other night I put the kids to bed and then went to my room to read for a while.  I could hear the girls out in the hall, but I ignored them.  Later I found that Charlotte had snuck into the office and fallen asleep in the little play house.

For the most part I like to include the kids in the work I do around the house.  They like to follow me around every where I go anyway, so I really don't have much of a choice.  The girls love when I let them "help" make my bed.  It is an elaborate process full of at least 6 separate games that we have to play every time we make the bed.  First we push everything off, then we do bubbles with the  fitted sheet, then we do bubbles with the top sheet, then I wrap the kids up in the top sheet and call them each a "cute little baby," then the kids pretend to fall asleep under the sheet and I come and tickle their toes, then we tuck in the sheet, and then put a blanket on and do everything all over again.  It's time consuming, but that's kind of the point.  It keeps us occupied.

Since I'm working on a T-shirt quilt I thought I should actually use the last one I made.  So it's on my bed this month.  This is a quilt made from all the T-shirts I had when I was a teenager.  There are shirts from Girls' Camps, Youth Conferences, OEFY, Oakcrest, Orchestra, and there are even a few shirts that date back to Elementary School.  The girls love to find the different things on each square.  It's kind of like a giant I-spy page.

Friday night we had a really bad rain storm.  Our power was knocked out for about 3 hours.  One of the little neighbor girls had randomly come over to make cookies with us and I'm so glad she was at my house when the power went out.  She helped with the kids while I looked for the lantern.  When I finally found it I discovered that the batteries were dead.  I had no idea where the flashlight was, and we didn't have any candles.  (So much for my reputation as an emergency preparedness guru.)

Thankfully my neighbor just ran over to her house and got some candles.  I am so glad that she just happened to be at my house.  I really don't know what I would have done without her.  I couldn't have taken the kids out in the pouring rain, and I couldn't have left the alone in a semi-dark house.

Charlotte and Lydia were pretty scarred when the power went out.  Even now they keep talking about when "Mommy's fan - STOP."  They also loved to play with the candles - at least until I put them away until we need the again.  

Here is a cute picture of my Mr Derrick.  This kid is so much fun right now.  He isn't talking - but he is communicating.  He uses different tones of voice to communicate different emotions.  He's such a sweet and happy boy.

Naptime continues to be a problem.  The girls just can't seem to make it through most days without a nap, but if they get a nap they are up until 10:00 or 11:00 at night.  I've learned to not make any plans for any projects or relaxing that can't be done without a toddler around.  They have a least started sleeping in until 7:30 or 8:00 so that is a nice consolation to having them up with me until 11:00.

Somehow every surface of my kitchen felt sticky on Friday.  So I spent the better part of the day taking care of getting it less sticky.  I succeeded too.  Then Saturday my goal was to get the rest of the house less cluttery.  I was so proud of the results that I decided to take pictures just to document the fact that some rooms of my house had been clean AT THE SAME TIME.

Here is the play room with all the toys picked up.  This room actually isn't such a problem now that half the toys have found a permanent home hiding inside the window seat (shhhh don't tell the kids).

The kids' room.  People always are surprised to find out I have three cribs in one room.

The office.  The girls made me put the house back together for them once I was done vacuuming.  I'm just glad I was able to get it cleaner.  Lydia had lined it with so many T-shirt scraps that it was starting to resemble a giant rats nest.

And my room, which by the end of the cleaning streak had apparently been visited by some sleepy toddlers and their various animal friends.

The girls discovered the robes that were hanging on the back of their bathroom door.  So they stopped being nudists and started looking like mini Hugh Hefner's.

All the kids have developed a fascination with the front yard and driveway.  I insist that the girls wear clothes when they go out in the front yard so the girls usually put their bathrobes on and run around outside.  (The exception was Wednesday when I totally forgot and let them out the door in just their pull ups.  That's when the "potty training" cover story was invented.)

Movie night has become a family tradition now.  We did it every week when Brandon was home, and we still do it now.  We watched the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and the girls LOVED it.  They were so excited when the beaver started talking.  And they were enchanted by Aslan.  They keep talking about "Lion, cut his hair, go to sleep, feel better, YAY!" 

We watch a lot of movies.  I don't really feel bad about that.  The girls get into every movie no matter how many times they have seen it.  For example when we watch Toy Story they always cheer when Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and all the characters make their appearances.  Even Zurg gets a "Zurg, Mama, Zurg, See Zurg, ZURG YAY!" when he shows up.  I took this picture because it's actually a rare thing to see all three of the kids watching a show while laying down and relaxing.  - And I thought it was funny that they were all laying the same direction.

Here are the girls playing in their cupboard.  Sometimes they like me to feed them lunch while they are in there.

Brandon gave me a Mother's Day gift before he left.  He knows me well and bought me Apollo 13.  I was so excited I started jumping up and down.  He also made me this card. As you can see, Lydia helped.  

This is the little Mother's Day gift that the girls made in nursery.  Apparently Lydia refuse to get her hands traced.  That makes me proud in a weird way.  

Mother's Day itself was pretty good.  My talk went well in church.  I started it out saying that depending on how my kids behaved it might end up being more of an object lesson on the importance of mothers.  Charlotte and Lydia had to be taken out within the first 3 minutes, but Derrick was just fine the whole time.

In the evening I invited my friend and her kids over for a real casual dinner.  Her husband is at Fort Polk too.  We had Dejourno Pizza, root beer, mini cupcakes, and watermelon.  And we used paper dishes so I wouldn't have to do a lot of cleaning.

In the morning I was greeted by this wonderfully small pile of dishes.  Usually I have a whole counter full of dishes that I take care of during breakfast - but not today!  I think I might make paper plates a tradition every Sunday.  For sure it is something I will do for every Mother's Day.

(BTW check out Lydia eating her cereal while standing up.  I don't sit down for breakfast, and the kids have picked up my habit.)

Sleeping on the floor has evolved into sleeping "in a nest."  The girls put blankets in a circle and then cuddle up.  I didn't get a picture of the nest while Lydia was still in there, but you can imagine.

Because I didn't have to worry about a kitchen full of dishes I was able to turn my attention elsewhere today.  I decided to organize the laundry/mudroom.  Here is the before picture.  Some of the stuff on those shelves has been in the same spot since we moved in.

Brandon set this table up to put his stuff on while he packed.  After he left it turned into a terrible clutter drop spot.

And here are the after pictures.

The bench was in a give a way pile in the gutter in front of my neighbors' house the other day.  So of course I went and got it that night.  I thought it might make a fun art table for the play room.  I imagined sanding it down and painting it with finger paints to match the window seat.  However, once I brought it home, I realized its actually a really nice bench.  So now it's under the window so the girls can get up on it and see outside into the front yard.

I left the table up because it is nice to have somewhere to place things.  I just need to be better about putting those things away in a timely manner.  One day I'd like to move the jackets to some hooks lower in the wall so the kids can reach them.  But that's a project for another day, month, or season.  

One project leads to another around here so I also ended up doing something in the play room.  My mom likes to send me copies of pictures of things that have happened at her house.  For years I've struggled with what to do with the pictures.  They aren't nice enough to frame, yet they don't deserve to be ignored.  A few weeks ago I figured out a solution.  I had large blocks of fabric from a project my friend Erin and I did.  I put the fabric on the wall with sticky tack and then put the pictures on the fabric.  

Today I found a whole stack of pictures while I was cleaning off the card table.  I put up this orange fabric and meant to put some of those pictures up there.  However, Lydia found the pics and claimed them as her's.  (She says, "That's my's pick-tures.")  So until I can get them away from her I guess the orange fabric will remain blank.  

Speaking of Lydia here she is eating a popsicle.  I can't get over how good her hair looks.  It's like prom hair every single day.  About two weeks ago I had an epiphany.  I'd been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to keep the girls' hair from turning into dreadlocks in the back.  Then I thought, "Duh, I should probably start putting conditioner in their hair."  I tried that and problem solved.  It still tangles, but the dread locks are gone!

And here is one final picture of the kids all playing together on my bed while I sat on the floor and folded laundry.  They are all such good kids and I am so happy to be their mom.  

"Boring" Stuff

The movie of choice around here this week has been Pixar's "Up."  Lydia keeps asking me, "Watch Up?"  But she can't quite get the letters right so it keeps sounding like she's saying, "What's up?"

Up is not my favorite Pixar movie.  I couldn't stand it the first time I saw it.  I kept thinking, "just put the house down, put the house down, put it down already!"  Later I was able to watch the movie and appreciate the symbolism of the house, but it still stresses me out to see that house floating through all the crazy adventures.  My complaint now with the movie is that it is so heart breakingly real at the beginning, and then becomes so unbelievable at the end.  I mean how can the same movie have me crying my eyes out over Ellie's infertility and then rolling my eyes at dogs flying airplanes?  How?

But anyway, the kids like the movie and so we've watched it about a million times this week.   They think Mr Fredrickson's name is "Up", and they always say, "Silly Up" whenever he does something.  Its so cute and I have no plans to correct them anytime soon.  

There is a part where Russel says, "it's the boring stuff that I remember best."  I've been thinking about it a lot lately.  It really is the boring stuff that I remember best.  Maybe that's why I like taking so many candid pictures of the regular things we do every day.    

So here are some boring pictures from the past week.  The things going on in them are so normal right now, but one day they will just be memories.  

The girls love to help me with laundry.  They love putting the soap in the washer and then watching the water fill in.  They call it a "waterfall."

Derrick loves to sit at the piano and play songs.  He flips through the Primary Children's Song Book too.

This is what grocery shopping looks like these days.  We call these kinds of carts "Silly Carts."  I will drive around the parking lot searching for one of these carts.  The girls always cheer when we find one.  I cheer too, because I really don't know how we would buy food without a Silly Cart.

Our kitchen has a lot more storage space than we are used to.  Consequently we've left some cupboards empty.  Brandon and I hate Lazy Susan cupboards so we didn't put anything in this one.  The girls have found a use for it.

The cupboard under the sink is also empty.  The girls go in there and call it their house.  Derrick will follow them and open the door.  They scream - he laughs - everyone has fun.

The girls always help bring in the groceries.  They also start unpacking them and putting them away.  Lydia put these Ramen Noodles in the fridge.  This was the first time I EVER bought them so she had no idea what they were or where they should go.

This is a cute picture of Lydia sleeping.  She tucks her hands under her chin and I just melt.  The only problem is she really shouldn't be asleep at all!  She put herself down for a nap four days in a row.  That would be awesome except Charlotte and Derrick haven't been sleeping at the same time as her.  They eventually fall asleep about 2 hours later.  I maybe get an hour to myself and then Lydia wakes up.  The kicker is that if Lydia or Charlotte gets ANY sleep during the day they stay up until 11:00 and then wake up at 7:30.  GRRRR

Saturday night I was a little busy on the computer and I lost track of what Derrick was doing for a bit.  Lydia needed my help in the hall so I turned off the computer and went to help her.  When I came back into the living room I found this.  

I need to remember that Derrick can reach the top of the table and the counter.

The girls helped set the table for lunch today.  There were a lot of extra dishes, but everyone was happy.

This afternoon I tried my hardest to keep Lydia occupied so she wouldn't slip off and fall asleep. She and Charlotte both love to "play with mon-nee" while Derrick takes his nap.

At the same time Lydia was lining up the pennies I walked by Charlotte's room and found her lining up blocks on her bed.

Anyway, it's 8:52 and even though the girls didn't have naps today they are still awake.  I'm not too happy about that.  I was hoping they would go to sleep around 6:00.  I have plans to watch Les Mis, but instead I'm blogging while they watch Toy Story 3 and jump on the couch.  I'm pretty ticked off.  This sleep unpredictability is one of those things I will not miss at all when the kids' are older.

Inspiration: Going to church - no matter what

Several years ago, before Brandon and I even considered adding the Army to our list of life experiences, I heard a talk that comes back to my mind a lot these days.

It was High Counsel Sunday in our Branch and the High Counsel member had asked his wife to be the other speaker.  She spoke about how her husband was a member of the Air force Reserve.  When their children were little it seemed that he was always on assignment during Stake Conference.  She and the kids would always go to stake conference without him - and it was usually pretty hard.  One of her friends once asked her, "why do you even bother coming without your husband?  Everyone would understand if you stayed home?"  She responded with, "I want the kids to know that going to church isn't just something we do when Dad is around."

At the time Brandon and I were in the middle of wrangling the twins who were probably about a year old.  I'm sure the sister could see us in the congregation and assumed that we weren't listening to a word she said.  But I was listening. I thought about how hard it was to get the girls to church every week.  Sometimes I wondered what the point was for torturing ourselves with waking them up from naps, getting them ready, and then trying to keep them quiet for three hours.  The talk reminded me that church isn't just something we do when it is convenient.

Little did I know that within a year I would become a military wife myself.  But when it did happen I thought of her talk every week.  I took the kids to church by myself because I wanted them to know that church was something that was always part of our lives.

Today was my most recent adventure with taking the kids to church by myself.  I was a little nervous because the last time I did it - back in January - things had not gone well at all. We'd been late, Charlotte had a fever, Derrick learned to walk along the bench, we only had one binkie, and to top it all off I was so new in the ward I didn't know anyone to sit with.  I ended up taking two screaming twins out of the meeting while holding on to Derrick.  Three women followed after us and helped get the kids calmed down.  They even went back for all the stuff we'd left behind. It was awfully embarrassing and I almost considered never going back to church again.

If you can believe it, the day got even worse - a few hours later I found out I was pregnant with Baby D.  I've told you how I called my friend Karen for reassurance that having 4 kids close together was possible.  Well, she also helped me feel better about how my hour at church had gone.  She told me how she'd been nursing one of her babies in the mother's lounge when she thought she could hear someone playing the organ pedals during someone's talk.  When she got back into Sacrament Meeting she discovered it was her own child crawling over the pedals.  As always, Karen cheered me up and gave me the courage to keep on going with life.

So anyway, I was a little apprehensive about how Sacrament Meeting would go today without Brandon.  But I planned accordingly.  Several weeks ago I asked my friend if we could sit with her family.  She has several teenagers that I figured would love to play with my kids during Sacrament Meeting.  Yesterday I took a shower so I wouldn't need to today.  I also packed the diaper bag and my lesson bag and put them in the car.  Then this morning I got up, got dressed, woke the kids up, got them dressed, fed them breakfast, did the girls' hair  while they ate their cereal, put shoes on everyone, and got us out the door in plenty of time.  We arrived early enough to save our spot and take a few laps around the building to "get wiggles out."

Sacrament meeting itself was pretty uneventful - not counting the Cheerios Lydia spilled all over the aisle (a nice lady helped pick them up).  Or the fact that Charlotte and Lydia spent the whole closing song and prayer laying in the aisle crying about how they wanted to go to nursery.

The rest of church was another story. I ended up with 18 (EIGHTEEN!) 8 to 11 year olds in my Primary class.  Thanks to the other Sr Primary teachers flaking out, Brandon and I've been teaching the whole Sr Primary for the past 6 weeks.  It hasn't been a problem until today though.  Without Brandon around to be intimidating the boys all acted up.  We ended up sending for help and finding another teacher for all the rowdy boys.   Then the girls and I had a nice quiet lesson.  (Don't get me wrong - I love the boys.  They are usually really fun.  They nicknamed Derrick "Flash" because he crawls so fast.  They were so excited that he'd learned to walk.  But today they were just too much.)  

When I brought my class into Singing Time my friend asked how my week without Brandon was going.  I told her, "That was the worst hour so far."

I used to joke that the church must be true because otherwise there was no way on earth I would wake up my kids from a nap to go.  Even now, with all the things I have to do to go to church it is still worth it.  There is a strength and peace that comes into my life from feeling the spirit at church each week.  So even though it's hard work and I just want a nap afterward, I will continue to take my family to church.

Wish me luck though - next week I agreed to speak in Sacrament Meeting.  

The Rules

Last Thursday I had a really scary moment.  I couldn't stand up.  I'd sat down to change Derrick's clothes and I was trying to get back up.  But my lower back sent waves of pain through my body every time I tried to get my legs under me.  Derrick wanted me to hold him and was crying hysterically because I kept pushing him away while I tried to get up.  I was almost in tears myself because I was suddenly filled with a lot of worry.  If I couldn't even stand up how was I going to take care of the kids without Brandon for four weeks.  Fortunately, Brandon was home and came to help me as soon as I called out to him.  But that didn't help my apprehension.

I spent the rest of the evening laying on the couch and thinking and thinking and thinking.  Obviously some things needed to change.

I came up with some rules for me to follow while Brandon is away.  I've been adding to the rules through out the week.  So far everything is going really well and my back hasn't given me any more issues.  The rules have helped so much I want to remember them when Brandon gets home.  So I thought I'd write the rules down.  And because some of you might benefit from these rules I thought I'd put them on the blog.      

Don't lift more than you have to - 
This one is kind of a "duh" rule.  But with three toddlers I have to constantly remind myself that I can't pick them up.  If Charlotte and Lydia ask "hold you?"  I respond with let's go over to the couch and I'll hold you there.  I used to be able to stand up while holding onto Derrick, but not so anymore.  I put him down, stand up, and then try to get him to walk with me.  If he doesn't want to walk I'll pick him up, but I try to do most of the lifting with my legs and not my back.  I'm lucky that he likes to walk a lot now because usually he'll just follow me around.      

And when it comes to non kid lifting I'm trying to be extra careful.  Laundry baskets are about the heaviest things I try to lift right now.  I make sure I'm only carrying one around at a time, instead of three precariously balanced baskets.

Pace Yourself -

The girls hardly take naps anymore - which actually is pretty awesome because bedtime is super easy because they are so tired.  The downside is that I don't get "me time" in the middle of the day anymore (except right now because this happens to be one of the random nap days.)  Instead I have to keep the girls entertained all day long.

So I have to make sure I have the energy to make it through the day.  This means even if I wake up with tons of energy in the morning I can't just clean the whole kitchen and do 5 loads of laundry.  (Not that I ever did that anyway)


It's important to pace myself. I can't spend the whole morning on my feet cleaning or whatever.  I will run out of energy too early in the day if I do that.  So I help the kids get breakfast, then I take a break with them on the couch. I get up and put the dishes in the dishwasher, and then take a break on the couch.  I get the kids and me a snack, then take a break on the couch.  You see how this goes.  (As a side note I'm planning a blog post about all the movies and TV shows I've been watching with the kids.)

This works pretty well because somebody usually wants me to hold them about every 20 minutes or so anyway.  I've turned it into a game to see how long I can stay on the couch.  I'll think, "oh I need to go move the laundry into the dryer - no that can wait.  Oh I need to get my phone so I can text Brandon - no that can wait.  Oh Lydia is taking off her diaper - that CAN'T wait."

Sleep when they sleep - 
This is a wonderful rule from the newborn days.  I've found it's pretty applicable now as well.  Yesterday we had a play date with another family.  The kids all played hard and were so worn out they fell asleep in the car.  When I brought them inside and put them down for naps I was tempted to start working on some of my projects.  But I knew that the naps would make the girls stay up until at least 9:00 pm - and I would be the only adult in charge.  So I laid down on the couch and took my own three hour nap.  When the kids woke up I was ready keep up with them.

Clean smarter, not harder -
Last Friday I boxed up over half the kids' toys.  I was sick of all the clutter, and I didn't want to have to deal with making sure that many toys were cleaned up on a daily or even weekly basis.  I made sure to leave out the toys that they actually play with.  They haven't even missed the other ones.  And I'm enjoying a rather clean house.

I'm still keeping the dishes done on a daily basis, but everything else is more on a "when I feel like it" rotation.   The living room is a prime example.  I left it messy on Monday, picked up the trash on the floor on Tuesday, vacuumed on Wednesday (when Lydia discovered fire ants eating some crumbs), and ignored the books strewn about the floor on Thursday and Friday.

Don't clean when the kids are asleep -
It's not worth it to me to clean during the few precious hours I get to myself.  For the most part all the housework can be done while all the kids are awake.  The only exceptions to this rule are mopping the floor and cleaning the bathroom.  Derrick doesn't understand slippery floors yet and bathrooms are too small to effectively clean with toddlers underfoot.

The girls usually like to help me with whatever I'm doing.  Even Derrick will sometimes help put toys in baskets (though he also likes to dump out the baskets two seconds later.)    Today I mopped the floor while Derrick took a nap.  Charlotte and Lydia were playing in another room, but soon they each wanted a turn to push the mop around.

Don't expect perfection -
You all know I've been working on this one for several months.  But I think this week I finally hit my stride.  These are actual things I thought during the past few days:  Who cares if Lydia sleeps in her clothes - or no clothes - at night?  Who cares if we eat butterfly noodles ever other day?  Who cares if we go to a play date with Charlotte still wearing her pajamas?  Who cares if we watch four movies and three tv shows each day?  The important thing is that we are all happy, healthy, and surviving.

Make Friends
I know I may come off as really extroverted on this blog.  There isn't much I wont share.  But in real life I'm an introvert.  I like doing things on my own.  And I'm actually a little shy.  I'm not the type of person to initiate a conversation.  Once I feel comfortable in a situation then I'll open up, but it takes me a little while to get to that level of comfort.

I've spent the last few months slowly making friends at church and in the neighborhood.  It's been a slow process.  And a lot of the friends I have made happen to be moving this summer (gotta love the military life) Well Sunday night I decided I can't do slow anymore.  I opened up facebook and the ward directory and started sending friend requests to people I've talked to at church.  The first one was to a girl whose husband is also in Louisianan this month.  She invite us over for a play date on Thursday and it was great.  I like having friends in real life.  

Well those are my rules. They are still evolving and I'm interested in any suggestions you may have.  What are some things you do to make sure you can get through the day?