I'm A Big Kid Now!

Tyler graduated from preschool last week. He just loved this last year. He is a very social boy, so he thrives with all the kids. He also really enjoys learning and being creative. I truly feel like he is prepared to succeed in Kindergarten. Wow, I am going to have a Kindergartner! I'm feeling old. But that's a post for another day!

Tyler really did a great job at the graduation. He was a great listener, singer, dancer, and speaker. And, I know I am biased, but he sure looked handsome.

Now to begin the summer of fun before school starts! We've got swimming, the zoo, splash pads, parks, cousin visits, museums, and late nights of playing outside to keep us busy.

"If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard, is what makes it great."

The other night one of my favorite shows was on TV. I love A League of Their Own. Mostly because it reminds me of all the good times playing volleyball. I digress. A clip of the movie really struck me while I was watching it. Tom Hanks' character says, "Baseball is what gets inside you. It's what lights you up, you can't deny that. It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard...is what makes it great."

I know he is talking about baseball, but that quote made me think of motherhood. It is hard. And honestly there are many days where I just want to quit. These two little lives are completely dependent on me. If I am not 100% invested in their learning, success, and well being, who will be? It is overwhelming. I often feel extremely inadequate and undeserving of two perfectly healthy, beautiful children. Especially when I read of such heart breaking stories like this. Do I really appreciate the sacred gift of my children?

I have been thinking a lot about this. I beat myself up a lot that I'm not doing a craft with my kids three times a week, or living at the library, or making great tasting organic meals. I feel like I must be failing because I don't have furniture in my home that I refinished myself after finding it at the thrift store, or because I don't wear the cutest clothes in the smallest possible size, or smile at my kids when they are whining and driving me bonkers.

This is where the movie quote comes in. Motherhood is hard. It is supposed to be. It is the test of this life for women. To learn how to humbly ask the Lord to help us with the this awesome responsibility we have to raise these perfect little souls entrusted to our care. Raising Tyler and Hannah is the most worthwhile thing I can be doing, so naturally it is going to require all of my mental, physical and emotional strength in order to be successful. While I am NEVER going to love the tantrums and disobedience, I am going to love them forever. I am always going to struggle with keeping my calm when Tyler splatters his toothbrush on my newly cleaned mirror, but I will also always love watching Tyler sing his heart out for me on Mother's Day. Hannah's bad manners and goofing off at the dinner table is going to drive me insane, but her snuggles when I read to her make even the most frustrating of days seem not quite as bad. For with all of their quirks, I have my own. They forgive me on a daily basis. They keep me humble. All they need from me is for me to "show up" each day for them. I can do that!  

So do I really appreciate the sacred gift of my children? The answer is a resounding yes! I would not trade Tyler and Hannah and my role as their mother for anything else on this earth. Because the hard is what makes it great!

Cause for Celebration

It has been a good couple of weeks at the Pulley home. While there have also been countless tantrums and fits, cleaning, laundry, bills, etc., we have three great reasons to celebrate.

First is Steve's birthday. The birth of my good husband is definitely something to celebrate. He works so hard for our family. Steve rarely has time to himself or to do the things he enjoys, and doesn't complain. I on the other hand complain, probably daily, about some aspect of my life or the kids.

Steve wanted a homemade dinner of pork chops with spiced apples and raisins and butterscotch brownies for dessert. All I have to do is give him some good food and he's happy. He is easy to please! The kids loved helping him open presents and were great little singers. Tyler bought Steve a gift with his own money and made a card all by himself. Steve and I noticed that his drawings resemble anime cartoons!

The next reason to be happy is the selling of our house in Boise. We loved this house. We became a family there. However, it has been a money drain since we left 3 1/2 years ago. I cannot tell you how happy I am that we never have to think about that house again...except for the good memories. No more bills, no more HOA dues, no more insurance. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted from our shoulders. A real blessing indeed!

Last, but not least, we celebrated my birthday. It was a great day. My sister-in-law took me out to a delicious breakfast, followed by a quick stop at the zoo for Hannah. The afternoon was spent relaxing, playing outside with the kids, and not doing the daily things that could easily wait until AFTER my birthday!

I didn't have to cook, clean or do any dishes thanks to a delicious dinner out. My three loves spoiled me with flowers (from Hannah), new gum (from Tyler), clothes and spending money.

These celebrations make me thankful for my family, friends, and blessings.

Newport Beach!

I realized this morning that of the 18 days of April, I have only been home for six of them! The latest whirlwind trip was to one of my favorite places, Newport Beach. My husband's family has vacationed there for years and now I've come to LOVE it there. Here are some of the highlights, and low points from our trip.

Highlights:
Food
All of my health conscious ideas and calorie counting goes out the window when I am in Newport. We ate Balboa Bars, Ruby's diner, Bristol Farms bakery, gelato, Sprinkles cupcakes, more Balboa bars and the list goes on. And it was worth each and every bite!


Time with Steve
It is good for me to get out of mommy mode and get back to being myself and being a wife. This was our first kid-free vacation since Tyler was born. Steve and I were able to go on walks along Balboa island every night. We went to Crystal Cove and went tide pooling. Drove a couple of hours, without kids interrupting our conversation, to Six Flags Magic Mountain. Time with my husband is usually minimal, so it really was great for us to have a few days to remember why we fell in love with each other in the first place!

At Magic Mountain, they have some pretty intense rides. Their X2 roller coaster is the most intense and insane thing I have ever experienced. No joke, I had to have Steve help me out of the chair my knees were shaking so bad. I truthfully almost wanted to cry...not because I was scared, but because I didn't know how else to digest the experience of the ride. And Steve's reaction? I have never seen him laugh that hard in our nine years together. He had tears streaming down his cheeks. He had the time of his life.


Shopping
Pretty much every store is better in California. You might think I spent a lot of money on cute clothes for myself. You'd be wrong. All I could think of was cute things for my kids. I couldn't help but miss Tyler and Hannah when I see things like this. Both of these came home with us!

And now for the low points:

Vertigo
I had my first ever case of vertigo...the day we were leaving. It was awful. I got motion sick at Six Flags the day before but this was worse. It took two Dramamine and four extra strength Tylenol to touch the dizziness and headache. Not my favorite.

Leaving
Just like any vacation, it was hard to leave the sun and beach to come home to laundry and rain clouds. But I will gladly come home to my kids and housework if it meant I had a wonderful long weekend with my best friend!

A very big thank you to Steve's parents for providing a place to stay and for the great company!

A whirlwind of weeks

I swear the past month has flown by. To make a long story short, we've had a funeral, house guests for a week, a week long road trip to Phoenix, and Easter. That is all in addition to preschool, the gym, grocery shopping, church meetings and all the daily doings. I feel like I haven't really had a chance to exhale!

Over Spring Break I went down with the kids to Phoenix to see my sister and meet my new sweetest niece. My mom was nice enough to drive down with me. It was great for the cousins to be together. I LOVED snuggling Sophie. And of course the weather was simply splendid! We ate good food, sat around and chatted, watched good shows, and relaxed.

I was all set to drive home myself with the kids on Friday morning. I was sort of dreading the long drive, but was geared to go. However, Thursday night Steve surprised me by walking into Jay & Kristin's house. No joke, I cried for two minutes straight. I believe I asked him "are you serious?" to which he replied, "No, I'm just kidding!" So we stayed an extra day and played at the park, ate AMAZING pizza at Grimaldi's and laughed so hard we cried. A true vacation!

We got home late the night before Easter. Like I said, a whirlwind! The kids actually let us take pictures of them. I think because we told them they couldn't find their Easter baskets until they gave us a good picture! Tyler must have a homing device on him, because he found his basket pretty easily the first place he looked. Hannah found hers the second place. Both kids loved their candy...of course!

After a wonderful day at church, we found Easter eggs outside at Grandma's house, dyed eggs for the first time and ate a delicious dinner. It was the perfect way to relax and unwind from the past few weeks. We were able to spend time together remembering our Savior. It was a very Happy Easter!