Love Me, Love Me Not

During the past week and a half, my love has waffled.  First, we had Valentines, a day of full-blown love, which included Valentines for all and takeout Chinese, and, of course, the Valentines pocket pillow cases in which I tucked positive notes and treats.

Sweetie played "Fur Elise" in her class Valentine's talent show:

The kids had worked hard on their Valentines:

Here is my little Valentine girl. (At the time, I joked that the only way she would ever be called an angel baby is by wearing this outfit with the wings on her back, but she seems to be settling down nicely now that she hit the magic 5/6-week milestone.)

The day after Valentine's Day we took off on a last-minute trip to Utah to check out a house we thought we were going to buy.  30 hours in the car severely taxed my love, especially for this guy, who thought it was a good idea to spit, kick the seat, and generally throw fits for a huge portion of the trip. Here he is, practicing "sitting on my head" (in his words):

And so I have been reminded that, as William Shakespeare wrote in A Midsummer Night's Dream, "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind."  Sometimes loving this offspring of mine is a matter of ignoring the macaroni-and-cheese-smeared face and the tantrums and the episodes of spray-painting the patio and scratching names into the neighbor's wall (Sweetie's latest endeavors) and trying my hardest to focus instead on the inherent worth, the potential, and the goodness in each of them. I didn't do that very well this week.

Fortunately, Utah is full of cousins and grandparents to take over when I no longer want to be in the same space with them (after 12 hours in the car). And, of course, Utah has snow!! (so very exciting for the desert-dwelling children)

And, in purely practical matters, this week has been a week in which our love for different homes has waffled.  Do we buy  

(1) The house that's a fabulous deal, in a great neighborhood, with perfect bedrooms and baths, but that has no private land/yard (only communal), and smaller-than-desired main living spaces?

or 

(2) The gorgeous, newly remodeled--but much more expensive than the others--rambler with all new (and very stylish--everything I would have chosen myself) flooring, kitchen, baths, walls, etc. and with nice, open living areas on 1/2 an acre, but in a neighborhood with less kids.

or

(3) The very large home with a great main living area and the entertainer's dream of a backyard--pool, swings, firepit, slide, trampoline, large deck, etc. but with carpet, bathrooms, and a kitchen that's in dire need of replacement (think badly-painted kitchen cabinets, linoleum, bathroom with water damage, etc)? 

Decisions, decisions. We can't go wrong with any of them, but the whole process has been--and still is--very stressful. 

So as to not end on a stressful note, here's a pic of Lil' Miss, who went to church today for the first time, now that she is a grand 6 weeks old! (She ended church in this outfit, but went in her pjs. How nice would that be.)

A peek at our week

This week was pretty uneventful, but I tried to snap some pics anyway. 

This happened all week: "H! stop smothering/smashing/touching the baby!!"

Since I am losing my hair by the handful, I figured these 2 shaggy boys could join me.  Since J has had his hair long, the boys wanted to grow theirs out. They were almost to the stage where they had an actual long hair style rather than just being shaggy and then they decided they wanted hair cuts. Here's the before and after. Which do you prefer?

 Someone turned ONE MONTH old. Can you believe it?!

It was a little chilly on Saturday, so I came home from a baptism to find J outside with Little Miss wearing her cute little hat.

I also went up to check on jobs and saw this little act of brotherly kindness--Mister reading to H.

Let the Valentine's begin! 

Early morning church means . . . afternoon fighting, but in the midst of the fighting, there were some good times. I came out from feeding the baby to find them playing games so nicely! So I had to document it.

As for me, I started walking outside this week--ah, the bliss! It's been so nice to get out of the house and turn my face up to the sun, move my body again, and see the start of little blossoms on the trees. Also, in the month since I've been nursing a baby, I've watched a lot of Downtown Abby (speaking of, have you seen this spoof?), Sherlock, and HGTV. I've read a lot of Facebook, pinterest, and done some online shopping. I've also read a lot, including these magazines

• 3 Oprahs
• Self
• People
• Family Fun
• Fitness
• 2 Ensigns

and these books, in order of how I liked them:

• Hallowed, by Cynthia Hand
• Papa Married a Mormon, by John D. Fitzgerald
• For Darkness Shows the Stars, by Diana Peterfreund
• Falling Together, by Marisa de los Santos (I actually liked this book probably the most, when I think about the themes and beauty of the writing, but the characters swear up a storm and that bothered me)
• I Still Dream About You, Fannie Flagg
• Quiet Meg, by Sherry Lynn Fergesen (a regency romance that a friend recommended)
• Merely a Mister (a companion to the above)
• Happiest Baby on the Block
• Scarlet, by A.C. Gaughin (I skimmed this one--didn't like it much)

Next up, waiting on my nightstand:

• Boundless, by Cynthia Hand
• Hallelujah, by J. Scott Featherstone
• Erasing Time, by CJ Hill
• How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen so Kids Will Talk, Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
• A Heart Like His, Virginia H. Pearce

Anybody care to recommend any others?