Listen...

My kids talk a lot and there are times I have to remind myself to stop and listen. Andrew is so confident and is not satisfied until he knows for certain that I comprehended everything he just finished saying. (I'm sure it has something to do with his speach issues). He literally demands a true response, no "oh really?" "umhmm?" "oh" or he'll ask, "did you understand what I said?" For as long as I can remember, Rebecca will always make eye contact with the person she is talking to. She'll tilt her little head and get in your face so that you are looking at her while she speaks and she'll say, "ok?" to verify that she is being understood.

 I love this quote. I know that I hate when people jump to conclusions or interrupt me before I am done talking because they think they know what I am about to say next. I never want my kids to think that I do that to them, because there are MANY times they take their story in a whole different direction then I ever thought it would go had I assumed how it was going to end! Growing up, my mom always talked with us. We were always able to voice our opinions (didn't mean we would be the ones making the decisions or we were always right or anything) but we always knew that we had a voice and our voice was being heard. I could never ask "too many" questions. Honesty was always so important as well. When we spoke back and forth, she was not manipulating anything or lying, we were always able to express ourselves honestly without judgement.

"If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all"---that's not true, sometimes we have to talk about things that aren't always sweet or nice. Sometimes we have to say things that may hurt someone or hear things about ourselves that are not nice. What's important is that those not so nice topics or words come from a good place. That they are not to lash out and hurt, but instead to hopefully improve things.

Now that I am an adult, I realize how important that communication is. I love that I have a voice with my parents and that has influenced my relationship with my brothers. We have a mutual respect for one another because we always know where we stand. I feel like it's because we are able to actually communicate and we all listen. We don't always agree and we aren't always nice...but we are heard and I appreciate that. I hope my kids will always know how much I value what they are saying. Even if it means I get to talk about Star Wars and Princesses all day!

Water Fun!

The good part about Arizona Livin' is all the water fun we get to have so many months out of the year!!! We may be back to school---but it's still plenty hot outside for the slip n' slide and play pool!

Andrew's FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL!

This week has been fun! Andrew started full-day Kindergarten! I am so proud of him! He's adjusting super well and is so eager to do homework and talk about school! He loves to learn and asks a MILLION questions about everything! I love this age and love him so much!

Becca's Room

"Construction" has begun---time for some DIY

We turned part of our garage into a work zone! First project is trim and crown molding :) 

Open House

Such a great open house! So far I am a big fan of Andrew's teacher and was so proud watching him explore his classroom and meet new friends (a few of the kiddos complimented him on his BRIGHT ORANGE SHOES ---and Andrew introduced himself to them, "Hi I'm Andrew and I like orange" LOL) Found his cubby, his table and did a few activites....only THREE more days until school!!!

Remembering to Count my Blessings

---It has been MONTHS since my last blog post and I am ready and excited to return to "Family Q".

Last week of summer is coming to a close and my oldest will be starting full-day Kindergarten next week!!! EEK!!! I am dealing with a bit of an internal struggle at the moment.   Rebecca is DETERMINED to start Pre-School and I, selfishly want to keep her home with me.  She will be 4 in Jan., so maybe when she turns 4 I will be a bit more inclined to begin the registration process for school. Also, the idea that my first born baby boy actually going to be in school ALL DAY, 5 days a week is a bit frightening! School supplies, lunches, snacks, entrusting in teachers and school staff to take care of my baby when I have been in total control of what goes on with him ever since he was born is a bit to handle.

Also, my little family took a HUGE step this month and I have been trying to deal with it. David had a vasectomy. I have had a very hard time each month. Since the last two pregnancies,  my cycle is very inconsistent and when I am even a day late, I get complete anxiety. The fear of a pregnancy is emotionally draining and knowing that there is such a risk of losing another baby, we were forced to make the decision to be done having littles.  A decision that although I am confident is the right one, is still very hard to wrap my head around.  I get baby fever all the time but know that it's not in the cards for us.  I wish it was a decision that we made. I wish we were the type of couple that decided one day after having our two beautiful blessings that our family was complete, but if I want to be completely real, that's just not the case here. I was forced to make that decision, and sometimes it just doesn't seem fair.

Of course I look at my two kiddos and feel so blessed. I don't mean to whine, but I would be lying if I said that this has been an easy process. Maybe that's why this week is hard. The idea of my baby hitting yet another milestone and now my youngest is ready to take off and go to school?!?! To top it off, it is official we are DONE making babies. Ay yai yai. I am reminding myself daily to count my blessings and take control of my happiness.  I hope to be "normal" one day, but for now, I just need to focus on the good and keep moving forward.

Frozen Fun!

I LOVE when my kiddos play together! It is the BEST feeling when your little ones are getting along! We love Frozen and Andrew has been wanting his own E;sa doll for a while now and we couldn't find her anywhere! Today we were able to get our hands on one and he was thrilled. The two of them pulled thier Frozen toys together and were inseparable all afternoon! Great day!