Snapshot

To capture the beautiful spring-like weather we've been having, we took a quick photo outside our backyard. Apparently the spring weather had passed very quickly because it was FREEZING! If you couldn't tell, just look at Baelor's face. He wasn't sad, just really cold as he tried his darndest to keep saying "cheese".

Where Did January and February Go?

I happenend to hop onto the blog and realized I haven't posted anything since the kids' birthdays! Aye! Nothing spectacular has been happening at home, but it's always nice to refresh at least the few highlights and lowlights of the weeks past! We'll start with the lowlights to get it over with. Sickness. Ever since Christmas break when both Reina and Baelor were sick (may I remind you that I had two weeks off of work) for a good chunk of the time, Reina did not recover. She has missed, I think nine days since school started with a few of them being absences from Disneyland. She is becoming well-known in the health room at school. The majority of the time it is for something completely unnecessary, but there has been a couple of times where she actually has had a fever! We've had a discussion about not going to the healthroom unless you are REALLY sick. Well, a couple of those times she really was. She just hasn't shaken her cold yet. The cough has been there for weeks and then all of a sudden it's drippy nose again or fever. I have really been trying to figure it out because she has never been sick so often like this. Our new plan that I had to discuss with her teacher is that she be allowed a snack after first recess. I found out the kindergarteners do not eat lunch until 12:50! Her body has been needing that mid-morning energy boost. Hopefully this addition will help. She has said that having a snack has helped out a lot.

Baelor has also been sick, but just a bout of throw-up one night and now coughing. He is just at a difficult stage for us because he defies what you ask of him and gets into everything if you don't keep a constant eye on him. I understand that he is discovering his surroundings and that it is a good sign of a sharp mind, but I get tired of finding the beads or puzzles or cauliflower that I happened to leave out strewn across two rooms. We are happy to announce that Baelor is starting to go potty every once in a while when we ask him to. He even made a poopy! We know this is going to be a long process because he can be a bit lazy about things if it's not his idea.

 Paul has somehow avoided the most recent bug in our home. Yeah, after writing this he suddenly came down with what we have. Hopefully it won't last as long though. He hurt his back at the gym one day and for at least a week that kept him not so happy or mobile. I, on the other hand almost avoided the icky cold until the end of January. I think it all started when I woke to tooth pain and had to get a root canal. That weekend was no fun as there was really nothing we could do about seeing the dentist on a weekend. My sweet husband and brother filled in and helped me out. Paul and I drove to my brother's dental office ( 7 hours away) when the office was reopened for the work week and got it taken care of. I had to cancel my driver education class for the very first time ever! When you don't feel well and you have to send texts or calls to many people, it is hard to stay focused. The highlight of our quick 26 hour trip was that we went to see "Unbroken" with my brother Teem and his wife Emily. I highly recommend it.

 I recently joined a book club with some other ladies in our ward. I feel so special to belong to a "girl" group. Ever since college I somehow have never felt very connected to the ladies in any of my wards, nor women in general. I just seem to get along better conversationally with men. I've been striving to be more attentive in conversations with ladies in our ward. I guess it paid off since they asked me to join a book club! Yeah! This is a big deal for me. I do believe much of it has to do with the fact that I do work (so playdates are very infrequent), and I work with teenage children. I don't have that ability to make plans with other moms. I do look forward to this "friendship time" when I can be a stay-at-home mom. What will I do with all of my "free" time? I know, it's not easy!

Dental Cleaning Day! Look how sweet they were holding hands for support!

Back to my root canal! After about a week of that mess and Paul feeling better we realized that January had passed. I think we went a couple weeks without really talking to each other because one of us was in pain one week, and the other the next week! Since I had to take antibiotics for the root canal and the massive amounts of ibuprofen (at least for me), it took a toll on my body and I caved. I got that super-long cough and once in awhile fever that Reina got. Ugh! Still trying to recover. I don't think my current class even knows what I am like without being sick!

I don't let sickness get me down though. I've kept substituting and working and being a mom. I might have slacked on being a pleasant wife though. We've had a few fun highlights these past weeks. We finally went on a date the other night since the first of the year! It was nice to go out to dinner with Paul's brother Steve and his girlfriend (now fiance!) Katie. (A quick reminder that I was good friends with Katie from sixth through ninth grade). We get along so easily as couples so it's really been refreshing to truly enjoy "couples" time. We met some of Steve's friends at karaoke afterwards and had a good time singing, dancing and playing pool. (I couldn't sing due to my cold, but I cheered plenty for everyone who did sing- okay of course just the Guinn boys sang). Next time I'm sure us girls will sing though. They both did a fabulous job as always.

One bug that I am so happy I caught these past few months has been the dancing bug! I have REALLY enjoyed ballroom dancing lately. It's almost like a drug where if I could do it every night, I would. Paul has been such a sweetheart in letting me go a couple of times a week. We had such a fun time at our church's stake Valentine's dance where we laugh, eat and boogie the night away!

For Valentine's Day/President's weekend, the weather was just perfect for a couple bike rides, soccer at the park with Grandma and Grandpa Guinn, and celebrating Reina's first Valentine's party at school. She made homemade Valentines for her whole class and even Baelor got to help make the cookies. He calls all cookies "cookie monster". It's so cute when he says he "wants a cookie monster." I actually had fever the day we made cookies for her class (after a fever during substituting in a special education class and taking Reina to dance class). I just pretended that I was a really good mom who makes pink cookies and has a special moment with my children. They didn't know I really just wanted to go lay down for the next 15 hours.

 One other highlight has been a new calling in church for me. I have been in Primary for years now. I have loved it, but sometimes I get tired of preparing a lesson each week. I am now an Activity Days leader. Twice a month I will lead all the 8-11 year old girls in different activities to fulfill their Faith in God achievements. This is not an easy calling, but I can see it being very fulfilling. I do love this age :)

And together, Paul and I are in charge of our ward's talent show! There is a lot of work but we are excited to see how it all will go. I'll probably write a separate post about this.  

During a visit to the doctor to get some blood work done, I cam out to the car to find someone scratched it without leaving a note...I had a fever and a very full day of work also. Not a good day.

Birthdays Galore

I find it can be easy to get the post-holiday blues. It seems from school starting in the fall until the new year, it is non-stop festivities! To avoid the post-holiday blues, I do feel rather blessed to have both of my children with birthdays in January. Although I wish they were not only six days apart as it always feels like I have to quickly finish one to start the other. Okay, it doesn't feel like that, it's the truth! This year has been a little challenging for me emotionally because in my mind and heart I should have been celebrating the birth of another baby (considering they would all be exactly three years apart). Of course this isn't exactly logical, but based on our history and challenges, it appears we were blessed twice around the same time of year.

First, we celebrated a simple family party for Baelor's big 3 year birthday! Since church gets out at noon this year, I decided to do a lunch party! I tried out the Cafe Rio idea that I've intended to do for years now. I LOVE Cafe Rio and the closest one is in Coeur d'Alene when we visit my brother and his family. Let me tell you- IT WAS GOOD! I felt like a true South American who preps all day in the kitchen making everything taste authentic. The only thing I fudged on was the raw tortillas that you just have to cook up on a griddle.

While I was already making Saturday my cooking day, I went ahead and made a cake and frosting from scratch, as usual. I have a serious panic attack thinking of using a box cake mix. I thinks it's the list of weird ingredients; and don't get me started on what's in already-made frosting! I made the cake then tried to figure out a "boy" theme that didn't require much work, or a trip to the party store. I realized Baelor had beyond enough cars. Hmmm. Chocolate? Mud? Monster trucks it was!

Even I got to play with the trucks driving them through the mud to make tracks. This year Baelor really enjoyed the attention of being sang to and blowing out candles. We enjoyed the vast amount of funny faces that Baelor made just while singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out the candles; he does not lack in expressions whatsoever!

Those in attendance were the family that live right here in Vancouver (Aunt Sanni and her family), Grandma and Grandpa Guinn, Mummi and Papa Will and cousin Karter, and even Uncle Steve and his girlfriend Katie (one of my good friends growing up, yeah crazy?)

I was planning on taking some 3 year pictures of Baelor but he's had such a nagging cold that I have to wait until his face doesn't look so droopy.

Baelor stats:

Weight: 29 pounds

Height: 35 1/2 inches

Favorites: Thomas the Train, cars, watching "Wild Krats" (he calls it "Water Krats"), wrestling, playing outside in puddles and mud, doggies, and snuggling.

Dislikes: He does not have interest in anything related to books or drawing. He'd rather figure out why the light turns on and off when you open and shut the fridge, or figuring out gadgets like flashlights or faucets. We've really tried to start the potty-training process. We got him to do pretty well for a few days with mint chocolate chips bribes, but this is no longer good enough nor any other treat in the house. Ugh! He has decided that he no longer will say prayers. It was cute the first time when he said "No, (insert name) turn", but now it's just annoying.

 

Obsessions: He will not sleep at night without his bally blanket and is strict about you counting out all 4 blankets as you place each one on him while tucking him in. He used to require a glow worm that sang songs for 10 minutes as he went to bed, but since it has been so used it sounds like the worm needs to clear his throat. He will hurl it on the floor if you give it to him. Instead, he has resorted to Reina's rainbow light. Probably his most recent obsessions is gum. I wish I never introduced this because now every time we get in the car he will seriously cry bloody murder until he gets half a piece. I give in too easy. I just can't handle loudness in the car. I'm just now realizing that I think I may be able to bribe going potty with gum? Aye, this sounds painful though.

Food: Gum and more gum, milk especially in a green sippy cup, raisins, plain bread, oatmeal, smoothies, fish.

Although Baelor has had a lingering cold, he is still just a sweet and pleasant little guy. He is mischevious, but all in innocence. We are all passionately in love with our little Guy-ser and can't imagine our home without him! We love you brother!

Just days later Reina had her 6th birthday! She started the day with her favorite breakfast, homemade oatmeal and a gift to open at her chair. An Elsa nightgown. She brought ice-cream cups to school to pass out in her class. It was challenging to come up with an idea. She has a diabetic classmate and others with nut allergies so I had to find something that appeased to everyone's needs. My first thought was a fruit kabob, but what kid really wants a fruit kabob to celebrate a birthday? Reina liked the idea but I could just imagine the other kids in class complaining. Cupcakes, especially homemade is now a big no-no. Cookies have too many possible allergies, and I'd get hate letters from parents if I sent candy. No one said anything about lactose intolerance so I think we were pretty safe with ice cream.

Since she already went to Disneyland for her early birthday, we didn't have another celebration. Well, kind of. I let her take a few friends to JJjump, an indoor inflatable jumping arena. Afterwards, I took the van full of kiddos to Dairy Queen to enjoy some hot eats and cool treats. After opening gifts at home, they played a little and parents picked them up. I was surprised how smooth everything went! There were no complaints from anyone!

Trevin, cousin Heleena, Ella, Norah

Reina is really growing up to be a sweet and thoughtful girl. She can be extremely demanding, yet she can also be extremely considerate. Often she can be like a fourteen year old- everything is very dramatic. She enjoys playing with older friends since they like doing things and have SO MUCH life experience. Haha. She would much rather put on music and do cartwheels than play with her many toys. She likes getting the popular toys like "Ever After High" dolls and "My Little Ponies" yet she rarely plays with them for more than a few minutes. Reina thrives off of friends, conversation, and activities.

A perfect day for Reina would look something like this:

Wearing a t-shirt (a kitty or something Frozen-esque on it), skirt and stretch pants with her hair in a pony tail. Oatmeal for breakfast. Then doing activities all day such as swimming, going to a playground or playhouse. Then lunch at a restaurant such as Red Robin where you get french fries and milk. She'd then want to do something like snuggle on the couch with mommy and watch a movie such as "Room on a Broom". Reina would then want to do something on her own that is creative such as writing a story and then drawing pictures of Christmas trees or her family using colored pencils only. She'd then want to jump on the trampoline with friends and Baelor or ride her scooter. Dinner would be spaghetti, brussel sprouts and apple. Afterwards, would include helping mommy make healthy chocolate chip cookies. She'd then want us to read a whole "Pinky and Rex" series book and retell stories about when she was a little girl while laying next to her in bed.  

A Merry Little Christmas 2014

Christmas is our favorite holiday. Not only because we get fun gifts like these

Stocking stuffers, literally.

And a big 'ol keyboard from Santa,

But also because we get to celebrate and decorate in light of the birth of our Savior, the Messiah.

Christmas day was a merry little one, with our two little ones. It was so fun to see Reina prepare for Santa and his reindeer with fudge (no time to bake cookies!), carrots, and a picture she drew for him.

We always begin with stockings, then breakfast. Reina really wanted oatmeal for breakfast. Score! Easy and healthy! Then it was time to read Luke 2; the story of Jesus' birth.

Favorite gifts this year? Reina says it was her Frozen journal and clothes. I was totally surprised as I spent very little or thought on these. I guess my love of clothes is rubbing off. Oops!

Paul's favorite was a grip for a gun. Yep, pretty lackluster. While snapping the photo, I said to Paul to look excited. He made "creepy guy" face.

Baelor's favorite gift were these foam snowballs that Uncle Bryan and Aunt Wendy gave us. We had a spectacular indoor snowball fight since there was no hope of any outside.

My favorite gift was a circular sander. Yippee! Oh, and a fanny pack. I hope I'm not growing a beard?!?

I sure do love my little family!

We are sometimes serious and are ready to bop each other on the heads

Sometimes we are completely silly and yes, laugh at each other

We went super casual this year since it was just us. I think Paul especially appreciated not having to
 dress up. We quickly set the timer to snap a couple shots.

I am grateful that we have extended family nearby. On Christmas eve we only had to go a few minutes away at my sister Sanni's house for a potluck dinner. Of course Mummi, Papa Will and cousin Karter joined us. We are lucky to get together so often; yet another blessing.

 We even joined Mummi in making Finnish pulla bread! We should do this every year!

I am blessed that despite health struggles, I physically feel good. Although I may have just two children, they get lots of loves from us.

Despite having a disease, I am able to have a fulfilling life and a positive future ahead.

I love my pink scarf for $2.50 at Goodwill, and a pink room can have Christmas decor, right?

On Christmas Eve, we were able to see Grandpa Scarborough in the hospital. He is having some health concerns right now, but it was a good time playing Chutes & Ladders and Zingo with him. How did he manage to get them gifts even without being able to go shopping. He always seems to surprise us!

Christmas dinner was apparently delicious according to Paul who kept complimenting me over and over with moans and yums.

The ham I have to credit to Costco. I blended yukon gold potatoes (my favorite) with brussel sprouts, broccoli, and sauteed onions and baked simply with salt and coconut oil. Even Reina asked for more onions! Since it was just us I could experiment with making a sugar-free dessert. I did a nut and pretzel base with cream cheese, pudding, and cream layers. I must have fooled everyone in a diabetic-friendly dessert. Although anything looks pretty in a fancy little flute.

We are truly blessed each and every day of the year, with each passing year because of Him. He lived a perfect life and loved us each so dearly that He suffered and atoned for us. I've had too many moments where my mind cannot comprehend the act that He performed. Even for Him, our Savior pleaded with His Father to remove this cup that He had to bear. Even Him. Someone who was created pure and of godliness. Even He needed to call upon His Father. I am forever in His debt and to whom I try everyday to be better. I should not make His life and atonement be in vain. What a joy it is to have this wonderful opportunity to be reunited with Him and our Heavenly Father again! I look forward in continuing to learn and grow, even if it may be arduous and full of bumps to be reunited with my family in our Father's kingdom!