Learning

Life is interesting. I like to have plans, to have a LOT of control over things, and everytime I start to grasp things, get into a routine, things change. And then I spend some time scrambling to adjust, to get myself back on track. I'm in that phase right now. Again. Usually it is a baby every year, but not this year(in case that's what you were thinking this post was about!:)

Luckily for me, I have a pretty incredible husband. He's awesome in so many ways- makes me laugh, is such a great dad, works hard at his job, cooks dinner, folds laundry, almost singlehandedly takes care of the yard and garden, sets an example for the kids and I, puts time and thought into his calling, makes me feel like the mos
t important person in the world to him... seriously, I'm lucky. In fact, as I was writing those, I was wondering what it is that I do if he is doing all of that?!?

But lately, I've been especially grateful for his calm, wise approach to things.

Here are some things I've learned from him lately through different conversations we've had that I really needed to hear because I can apparently quote him in for a blog post... :)

"Overwhelmed is a state of mind."
"Going the 2nd mile."
"Life is too short... your eternal happiness is the most important thing."
"That is early morning revelation."
"He's probably rich BECAUSE he drives that old car."
"You become like the 5 people you spend the most time with." (not a quote from Jared, but one he says quite often.)
"We all have the same 24 hours in the day. When we say we're "too busy", what we're actually saying is, 'I choose to spend my time differently.'"

I could probably write a blog post about each of those, but for now I just wanted to write them down so I don't forget.

I also learn about discipline from him. When he makes his mind up to do something, he just does it. No "Ifs", "Ands" or "Buts". So inspiring to have someone like that in my LIFE, and luckily for me I get to spend a lot of time with him. :)

Attack!!

I turn the vacuum on and that is apparently Briggs' cue to attack it! It is one of his favorite toys!

If it makes noise,

Briggs loves it. The noisier the better. The kid goes crazy over tractors, 4-wheelers, fire engines, lawn mowers and can watch the backhoe digging on the lot next to ours for an hour. This is a picture of he and Jared mowing the lawn the other day.

PS- Notice how amazing that lawn looks? That would be the result of lots and lots of dirt, grass seed, water and a lot of time and energy by my hard-working husband.

Watching over

I have seen this picture floating around facebook and I have been thinking about it a lot the last couple of days. This morning, the kids and I were playing on the living room floor, and I watched Briggs turn and look at essentially nothing. He started smiling giggling and playing with that "nothing," even reached out to touch the air. My girls felt it, too, as they turned to watch. An incredible experience.

Fish

If there is one thing that all 3 of our kids agree on, it is that they LOVE water! They could each take over an hour long bath everyday if I let them. They don't always last as long with all 3 in there... maybe a little too crowded? But it sure if hilarious to listen to them as long as they'll last in there!

The boss

The other day I asked Maddie to put her shoes on. She didn't listen, so Emma told Maddie to put her shoes on... now!

Maddie said, "EMMA! You NOT the boss of ME! You NOT the BOSS of me! MOM 'da bossy one!"

I think it is pretty obvious who is actually the bossy one. :)

Best Friend

My little sister has been on her mission for almost a year! Which is past the halfway point! I always miss her, but this week I'm REALLY missing her. There is something special that can't be replaced about your first best friend, the one who literally knows every detail of your life and loves you unconditionally. A couple of picture of us that I came across...

Lately, my girls have been reminding me of Kelsi and I when we were younger...

Trying on some clothes from a cousin- we love hand-me-downs! I remember how excited Kelsi and I would get when we got a big bag of hand-me-downs like that. We would try on EVERY single thing and model them, spending hours with each other.

B

They also love any kind of dress-ups, and my mom bought them these sunglasses the other day. This was their first time showing Jared. Kind of felt like deja vu because Kelsi and I would go school shopping with my mom and then we went home and tried everything on for our dad and brothers to see.

Maddie's new friend

We went to visit my family this week. My kids love the tractors, animals, and space to play, not to mention all the time playing/cuddling with Grandma, Grandpa and Clint and Zane. Maddie particularly loved this Holstein/Jersey calf because it "has Ariel hair, too!" :)

Wow, can't believe I never posted that!

I found this in my blog archives that I never posted.....

Briggs Harlow Daniels
September 17, 2011
8 lbs. 1 oz. 21 in.

My little sister, Kelsi, is leaving on her mission on Wednesday, so my goal was to get this little guy here before she left so they could meet. I usually go early, and my body was progressing normally, so I decided to help things along.

I researched ways to naturally induce labor, and tried pretty much all of them. I could tell it was helping, but I was being impatient. So I bought castor oil. First off, GROSS! It definitely does what it is designed to do! But all of the stomach irritation led to contractions, and I finally started to have some consistent, contractions, and I knew I was going into labor.

I tested positive for Strep B again, so my doctor had given me a loooong talking too about coming in WAY earlier than I did for the girls(I had Emma 4 hours after getting to the hospital and Maddie after 2). It was nice to only be in labor at the hospital for a couple of hours, but the downside was that we had to stay for 48 hours because I hadn't had the antibiotic for Strep B in time. My Dr. was also concerned about how close my pregnancies have been and was worried about complications because of that. He ordered blood in case I started to bleed out and needed a transfusion. He tried to downplay it, but I could tell it was a real concern.

Jared got home from work and I told him I wanted to take the girls to the park so I could keep the contractions going and take my mind off of it. The park we WALKED to was a little less than a mile away. Walking there definitely helped, and the contractions became closer and closer together. By the time we got there, I was having some contraction 90 seconds apart. I sat down on the park bench, and they would slow way down, like 3-4 minutes apart. But every time I stood up, they sped up again. I was trying to listen to my Dr., so we decided to call Jared's mom so she could come and get the girls and we could go check in at the hospital. She didn't answer, but we got ahold of his sister Mandee, and we started walking back to our house. Mandee met us at our house, took the girls, and we headed to the hospital. We also called Connie and her cousin Randee works as a labor and delivery nurse, so they knew we were coming.

We arrived at the hospital around 7 PM. Since I have my babies so fast, the staff in labor and delivery were nervous and very prepared for us to get there. Luckily I went in early enough that I was only at a 4 this time. They wanted to slow down labor so I could get all the antibiotics I needed, so I basically just laid down and got comfortable. We had the anethesiologist come at around 10 PM when I was about a 6 so he wouldn't have to come from Blackfoot(?) in the middle of the night. I was the only one in labor in the whole hospital that night, so I was very well taken care of. It also helped immensely that Randee made sure I had the best nurse there.

I didn't progress much after my epidural, and they decided that not only was he a BIG baby, but that he was posterior, so things weren't progressing as quickly as they should. My Dr. still didn't want to break my water because they wanted to get 8 hours worth of the antibiotic drip into me. My nurse told me to try to get some sleep since my epidural was working and I was really comfortable. So Jared and I both slept. Well, I dozed on and off for a couple of hours, Jared was totally out. They kept coming in and checking vitals, etc., but my nurse was awesome and she just tried to let me rest as much as possible.

Around 3:30, she told me she better check me and see how I was progressing. She kind of gasped and said that he must have flipped and was ready to come. She called my Dr., and he had gone home to get something to eat. So we TRIED to wait for him, and he walked in, I pushed twice, and our little guy was born at 4 AM exactly. 8 lbs. 1 oz., 21 inches long. SO cute! And they cleaned him off and gave him to me, I tried to nurse him, and he latched on and never stopped eating. :)

The rest of my stay at the hospital was very easy, too, with my friend Randee calling ahead and talking to the nursing staff for me. Seriously, I've never had such a great experience at a hospital. We were dishcarged after just a day since he had gotten his antibiotics and was doing so well. My recovery has been the easiest by far!

Love our little man!