Careful Planning

I THINK CLARA STRATEGICALLY PLANS HOW TO USE HER TIME WHILE I SHOWER.

Monday: Pull drawers completely out of dresser. Throw all clothes in a pile to jump on.
Tuesday: Pee on the floor.
Wednesday: Eat 4 containers of jello.
Thursday: Squirt ketchup, mustard, and salad dressing on blanket.
Friday: Pour 4 1/2 cans of formula on the floor. Mix with water to create paste.

You Spotted My Hickey!

Carman saw this little bruise on our poor baby's arm while we were sitting in church today. I was baffled and sincerely kept trying to think of how this could have happened. About an hour later a friend was making fun of the way Benjamin was so intensely chowing on his hands. That's when the light bulb turned on and I realized his sad little bruise was actually a self-inflicted hickey! When he wakes up in the morning, he lays in his crib and sucks on his arms and hands. I don't know why it took me so long to figure out. Anyway, I thought it was funny enough to document.

My Other Half

Carman's last semester is proving to be, perhaps, the most trying yet. We had a baby, he got more responsibility at work, he got a busy calling at church, and has one of the toughest teachers for his Leadership class at school. As the semester comes to a close, the projects are piling up. WE CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS SEMESTER TO END. 

He has had a couple group projects and papers recently. Somehow he is always the person in charge of compiling everyone's parts to make a cohesive paper. Bad idea. Carman is an excellent writer but his classmates never seem to measure up. Carman puts a lot of time (perhaps too much) into trying to improve everyone's parts. 

Yesterday he was putting a team paper together for his difficult leadership class. I tried editing some of it for him. One of his classmates is a below-average writer... for a high schooler. It was pitiful. Not only was the grammar and spelling wretched, his arguments were weak. There was only so much I could do without researching and completely rewriting that section, which is exactly what I wanted to do! I gave Carman my brutally honest opinion of that section.

The paper is due today. So my poor, hard-working husband stayed up, quite literally, all night. Now he is off to campus to turn it in and go to class. He has 3 hours to nap and then he has to go to work. I don't think he can take the day off because he's teaching a class of new hires. I feel so bad for him, not to mention scared. It makes me afraid he'll fall asleep while driving or something. He's got so much on his plate right now. I keep telling myself "this, too, shall pass." 

Cute Smiles

Benjamin loves to watch his big sister! He smiles quite regularly now. And, yes, he really is this big!!

My Vacation

Having 3 kids is crazy! Mostly, it is hard for me to function on little sleep. I don't think it'd matter how many children  have. Maybe I should say: having a newborn is tough stuff! I was barely getting by and not feeling like myself at all. I'm surprised my girls still like me! So, my mom came out to save me for the week. It was wonderful. I slept in EVERY DAY. And I took a nap almost every day. Plus my mom brought me some herbs called 5 HTP that "support a positive mood." I'm happy to say that my week long vacation coupled with some happy pills and Benjamin sleeping MUCH better, I'm feeling back to myself again. Seriously, last night was the best night ever-he slept from 9 pm to 7 am! That's almost better than Clara! Here are some pictures to attempt to fill you in on the past month.

Benjamin was blessed on March 18th. 

 Everybody loved having Grandpa here.

 Emmalynne can be caught snuggling with her brother quite frequently!

 This is one of the few pictures of my mom with the kids while she was here. Which is odd because she was with them constantly, I just never grabbed the camera. 

 After meditation, I truly believe the girls needed Grandma and Grandpa to come as bad as I did. They really needed some loving attention and I just wasn't able to provide it.

 Sadly, Sunday was so busy we never got a family photo with all 5 of us. Carman got a new calling that kept him at church until after the girls went to bed. 

 Emmalynne is seriously in love with her brother.

 Cute Clara all snuggled in!

 Yep, one more picture of these 2!

 I think Grandma probably needed a vacation after a week at my house!

 Little smiley boy on his blessing day! Good thing grandma was here to make sure we got some pictures.