Lovin' Poomba...

#3 is obsessed. OBSESSED! No, not any kind of ball (like he was with the stranger's ball at the park this morning). No, not screaming as loudly as he can (like he does everytime #4 cries, anyone takes away his toys, he isn't listened to, or you look at him wrong, which is what happened all day today). No, not with cookies (like he is everyday). I'm talking about the BIG obsession. huge, people, HUGE!

It's Poomba. Our Roomba.

We purchased this last year sometime, and it was named by DH with a friendly Disney name as to not scare the children as they watched this random robot moving about the room.

Now, somehow, #3 thinks of it as a real pet. He talks to it. Looks at it. GUARDS it. And wants it to vaccuum all the time.

I can't tell if this is because he likes robotic things, likes the sound of it, enjoys watching it, or just needs more attention from mom, but it's starting to worry me. Hopefully, he'll grow out of it. But for now, Poomba is his life. ~sigh~ I guess it could be worse. I mean, he could be into worms and bugs right now, right?

More Random Thoughts...

• I saw this picture of #4 and I thought, WOW! HE'S SO CUTE! And then I realized, this is NOT #4. It's my baby brother.

• Last night, as we were trying to get the kiddies settled down for scriptures and bed, utter chaos ensued. Let's just say that by the time we got everyone "settled" and in the same room, the Spirit was no longer there...contention was abound in every word and action. It was quite sad, really and I remember thinking "What's the point of doing this if we can't feel good about it?" That's when 2 families from our ward showed up on our doorstep with goodies in hand and a bright "welcome to the ward!" We invited them in (all 12 of them?) and more chaos ensued, but this time it was peaceful chaos. Can there be peaceful chaos? Thank you to those families who left a great feeling and the Spirit behind when they left...we needed it!

• Aunt Carrie is coming today! Wahoo!! She is going to be my personal shopper for a few days. And man, do I need it! I am following the advice she gave here about not waiting until the weight is lost before looking good... Fabulous advice!

• My parents and baby brother (see him in that picture? Isn't he adorable? It was taken about 21 years ago...) are coming next week to visit. How lucky are we? We've been in this house not even a month and already we'll have 2 weeks worth of visitors...Hooray for visitors! Who give me a reason to clean! And unpack! And take a shower! And buy food! :)

10 and 10

10 things I don't like about myself:

1. I freak out. A lot. Over dumb things.
2. I want to be healthier (and 30 pounds lighter) but I can't seem to muster up the self-control.
3. I yell at my kids --usually when I'm freaking out. Over dumb things.
4. My hormones rage and fluctuate at random times (and then I freak out).
5. I speak my mind too frequently
6. I forget to do nice things; i.e. birthdays, thank-you cards, making cookies for my VT sisters, etc.
7. I have high expectations of myself and then feel guilt when I can't/don't/won't fulfill them.
8. My kids watch too much TV because I blog too much
9. I slack off with scripture study and personal prayer (out-loud-kneeling-by-the-bed-kind) on a regular basis
10. I don't appreciate my husband enough.

10 things I like about myself:

1. I am a musician
2. I appreciate nature
3. I was healthy enough to have four kids
4. I got myself a Bachelor's degree (in four years!)
5. Despite my flaws, I've somehow managed to surround myself with amazing people
6. I love to laugh
7. I have beautiful eyes
8. I maintain some level of intelligence in a variety of subjects
9. I tend to be organized
10. I was smart enough to get the best husband in the entire world

What about you? (feel free to limit it to 2, 5, or 7 each. Or go with all ten! I'd love to hear about it so I don't feel alone in this cold, cruel, blogging world...)

The Move Part III: Getting unpacked

Okay, so here I am, finally able to feel a little settled. Books are unpacked; pictures are hung; and even some things in the garage have a place. The best part was getting the computer desk and surrounding bookshelves organized. Of course, it's all far from perfect, I'm sure I'll whip out some of my "it'll work better this way" cleaning sprees and we'll be back under the thumb of craziness.

But until then, I shall relish in completion. Okay, NEAR completion.

The worst part about getting unpacked (versus packing) is the different lay-out of the house. Our stuff used to have a place, but now it has to be re-configured to fit here.

What's nice is that once it's all unpacked, then I can start focusing on adding other (and new) elements into my changed (and yet so much the same) life. This could include: pre-schools, piano students, park visits, seein' the SF sights, more blogging, and shopping at Trader Joe's....

The Move Part II: Why being a Mormon is fabulous when you move!

Answer: Immediate and overwhelming help in aspects of unloading the big truck (Elder's Quorum, that's what they are for!), immediate friends (Yay for the RS!), and an entire community of people to help you decide on doctors, dentists, schools, teachers, preschools, activities, classes, grocery stores, play dates, etc. etc. and so forth and the list goes ever on...

Of course, as my DH said, one could PRETEND to be a Mormon, get those things, and then never go to Church. Of course, that would be RUDE and quite the LIE, but bet your bottom dollar, those Mormons would still help you anyways... :)

Thank you to my new ward! Thank you for letting my wierd personality into your lives --and thank you, Janelle, for making it so easy to move right in... Thank you for book group, scripture study, hanging out --and to all my new friends, you are awesome!

P.S. Go Here for more fun LDS logos like the one above...

The Move, Part I: Here are some details...

I'm going to try and post as much as possible, because I have a lot to catch up on! So, bear with me as I try to re-hash everything that has happened in the last little while:

Moving here was difficult physically, mentally and emotionally. I figured it would be because I've only moved once in my life. Okay, well, only one BIG move. I grew up in the same town and then moved to Provo. That's it. I moved around Provo a lot, but it wasn't hard to do that --in fact, it was fun! So this move to California was BIG. And, of course, I had to have four children while I did it. Here's how it was hard:

Physically: I just had #4, and so healing is an important process after childbirth. I had to be careful not to lift heavy things too soon or wear myself out. I was exhausted from lack of sleep (still am!), but I still had to get things done. Once we got here, it was more of the same, only in reverse...but at least I can take it slowly, now. :)

Mentally: Uprooting a life is hard enough, but uprooting many lives is harder. There was so much to think about! Cancel this, cancel that, change this, change that --there were doctor's and dentist's appointments, dance classes, school activities, piano students to call, things to rent, things to offer to rent, purging, calling, cleaning, giving away, etc. And then there were all the people to tell, and people coming over, and people giving gifts, and I lost track and forgot to write thank-you cards....it was just a huge memory mess, and it's even harder now to remember what it is I need to get done...

Emotionally: I was happy for this move. I really was, because it meant a job, it meant DH's happiness, it meant something new and exciting and it meant experiencing something different for a change. But convincing myself that I'd be okay --it's not a big deal --wasn't working. I had to change my way of thinking and remind myself over and over that it was okay to be sad. But it was hard to be sad at all because I was so focused on the tasks at hand --at surviving --that I didn't really get a chance to be sad until we left. Well, our last Sacrament Meeting where we blessed #4 was a perfect outlet for my feelings of loss. And the good cry I had once we got here helped, too. Now I just try to take it one day at a time --I have so many emotions! Being in postpartum doesn't help, either. Hormones are everywhere! But I'm slowly emerging from the tangled web of craziness and starting to find my way around how I feel about everything. It's kind of like the unpacking --as each box gets unpacked and put away, my feelings start to level out a little more.

Now I'm just dealing with being in a new area and finding my way around. Literally and figuratively! Finding health services, finding friends, finding grocery stores, etc. I'll get the hang of it, though... :)

Coming up next: The Move, Part II: Why being a Mormon is fabulous when you move...

WE'RE HERE!!

We're here!! I'll have to do major updates next week when we get internet (and we can stop stealing wireless time from neighbors and innocent bystanders). But for now, you get this:

• Crazy, wonderful and emotional Sunday where we blessed #4, said good-bye to everyone, and drove to Elko, NV.
• Easy and beautiful drive on Monday from Elko to Concord (HERE!!)
• Gorgeous house and area, people!
• Cried for only 15-20 minutes this morning after DH went to work...
• Didn't cry yesterday because 3 FABULOUS women from my new ward and their kids came over and I realized that I'm really going to be okay...
• Talked to my baby brother on the phone today! He's home from his mission!
• #1 starts school tomorrow, and she's really excited...

I think I'm really going to like it here. It's an adjustment, sure, but it's gonna be great...(maybe just one more cry-fest, and I'll be all set :) :) ).