Journaling

So I went into Dollar General in search of one thing and came out with five, one of which was a new journal. I am a sucker for journals. I had this brilliant idea that since I am up until midnight everynight anyways, why not journal while the kids are in bed and Sam is asleep or at work. Brilliant thought, but now I have decided that it's so much easier to just blog at night. Hahaha. Oh well.

What a Week

What a week!!! Two mile markers for my girls. First, Ruby found her elbow and second, Anna, rolled over. So exciting!!! I'm so proud of my girls. Even more exciting was spending the week with the Skinners. My brave sister came up to Indiana for one last time with her five children in tow. She gave plenty of wanted and needed sisterly wisdom and taught me to make hair bows so I don't have to spend a fortune bows for my girls. It was a great time. A crazy, but great time. There were seven and sometimes eight children at my mom and dad's house for the week. Four and sometimes five of those kiddos were little girls fighting over the dollys and play phones. It was great. They are all safely back home. Love you Skinners.

On a super sad note, our friends, the Shorts left to move to Utah. We love and miss them so much. Love you Shorts family.

Where is Ruby's Elbow?

As previously posted, Ruby has had a heck of a time finding her elbow. When I ask Ruby where her elbow is she points to her wrist and says 'elbow', but when I ask her where her wrist is she points to her wrist and calls it her elbow. Today Ruby finally found her elbow!!!!!!!! I was almost as excited to find her elbow as I was when she first rolled over. Oh, the mommy moments.

Here's another funny moment today which I owe to my preschool swim class. I was teaching this little boy to swim on his back and then his front and as he struggled he said very matter-of-factly that "it's the water that's the problem." Too bad we can't learn to swim without water.

Family Update

Just thought I would update anyone and everyone who might occasionally read the "All Kinds of Crazy" Zollman blog. Sam is still toughing out the third shift. This week has really killed him. In fact, he is still asleep on the couch at 10:25 pm and has to leave by 10:30pm. Hmmm....why is he still asleep on a Thursday when it's his day off of school? Because intelligent me decided he needed to up his vitamin intake since he lives on two hours of sleep a day. I divied out all the vitamins this morning between Sam, Ruby and I, packed the girls up and left so that Sam could have a full, uninterrupted day of rest. The flippin' vitamins kept him up all day and he could not fall asleep until eight thirty this evening.

Annalyse is chunking up quite a bit and is so cute. The doctor's comment at her appointment the other day was that she was definately not malnourished. I wonder what gave it away, the rolly thighs or the huge cheeks. She smiles and laughs and coos. Her favorite person is Ruby. Ruby loves her too, but of course all the toys are only on loan to Annalyse. They really belong to Ruby ;) When I lay them on the bed to get changed in the morning Anna will just stare and laugh at her sister and Ruby will roll around giggling and laughing pretending that Annalyse is tickling her, which makes Anna laugh even more. It really is very cute.

Ruby is the glue of this family. She makes sure that everything and everyone is in its place. Her favorite person is Joey. Her favorite phrase is "yippy skippy". Who says "yippy skippy"? "Boppa" or Grandpa. Ruby can 'meow' better than any kitty around, but she still makes a growling roar sound whenever you mention a cow. Someday I will take her on a barnyard safari and we will discover the real sounds that a cow makes. Oh, also, Ruby will very proudly show you her eyes, her ears, her mouth, her nose and so on, but if you ask her where her elbow is she will always point to her wrist and when you ask her where her wrist is she will point to her wrist and say elbow. I must have been tired the day that we were learning body parts and I pointed to the wrist and said elbow. I promise it only happened once and I have corrected myself evertime since, but she is convinced that her elbow and her wrist are one in the same.

I am still teaching swim lessons at the YMCA, which is halarious because I don't swim. I stick to the classes that are taught in the shallow end, like the baby and mommy class, the preschool swim and the arthritis class. I love it though. It gets me out of the house and Ruby goes swimming with me every Monday. She is going to be an amazing swimmer. She really loves the water. I continue to gain baby weight even though I am not pregnant. It just sounds better to say it that way, rather than just saying that I gain weight because I eat out of boredom and depression. Ummm...I love my calling. I teach the music in primary, which is the calling that I never wanted to have. But I love it after all. My laundry is never done, but I am learning to deal with it and I love my family. That sums it all up for now.

So Why Am I Complaining?

We have been very blessed in our marriage. We have two beautiful and healthy little girls. We have a warm home that will one day be paid off and then rented out. We have one semi-functioning vehicle. We have wonderful callings, wonderful family and we are in good health. We love each other and that's more than some people can say. We have the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we live it and love it. So why, with all of these wonderful blessings am I complaining?!

After almost a year of unemployment, Sam has a job-another blessing. He works third shift, goes to school full time and magnifies his calling of Branch President. He never gets a full nights rest, so when date night rolls around he falls asleep in the car on the way to our destination or on the couch during a movie. I don't blame him, but it does cause marital discussions and romance to go down the tube. I can't blame him, I can't blame his calling and I can't blame school and we need the job. So why am I complaining when we have been blessed with a much needed job in a time when jobs are scarce?

It hit me that I borrowed money for four years of college, only to work one year towards paying it off. I am grateful for my degree and I feel rather accomplished when I sit around talking with other stay at home mothers because I have that degree and that's not one of my life's questions anymore. How selfish is that? Sorry, but that's the nasty proud side of Laura. I have something to fall back on and I am glad. So why am I complaining?

I get to stay home with my children everyday, and clean the house all by myself everyday and go to bed all by myself everyday. So why am I complaining?

This is me on a bad day. Sorry, world.

You Know You're Married When...

Sam and I have come to realize that we have joined that not to elite group of tired mommys and daddys. A few short years ago we would enjoy at least one night a week out as a couple. We might flit about going on a shopping spree at Hobby Lobby, followed by ice cream/dinner and a movie, probably a late night one even. Then come home and enjoy the other benefits of being a married couple, not caring about interruptions or the hour. We would sleep in the following morning and spend the post date day lazing about and enjoying our free time. Now, we might be able to get away for a date night once a month and we still have a child in tow. Instead of trying to figure out how much money we could spend in one night, we now try to figure out how to spend the least amount of money and still enjoy a date night. And romantic rondevues are cut short because of crying babies or because we are just worn out from a day of work, kids and other.

Here is an illustration for you: Sam and I planned to have Ruby spend the night with my mother and we would use our Comets hockey tickets from Mindy to have a date night. Dinner and a game and then Sam would come home and sleep before he had to leave for National Guard the next morning. Sam had already been awake for over twenty-four hours with work and school, but we had planned the first date in a while and were going to follow through. Sam came home from school and got dressed, while I got ready as well. He put on his comets jersey while I fed the baby. Then we found out the game didn't start until 8pm. So we thought we would just leave at half time. Then we said "ok, let's just eat at the game and leave at half time". Five minutes later changed our minds and decided to catch an early movie and fast food. Once in the car, we shortened our date to just a movie in Auburn. Once in Auburn we decided that all we really wanted was supper. Sam looked at me and suggested "Steak'n Shake"...drive thru and a redbox movie. So that's what we did. We grabbed drive thru and returned to Kendallville with our redbox movie. Sam fell asleep within twenty minutes of the movie and the baby and I joined him once the movie was over at nine pm. We are definately an old tired married couple.

Annalyse Margarite Zollman

We had a little photo shoot. Annalyse Margarite Zollman is three months old. She weighs over 12 lbs now and is 23 inches of pure adorable.

Seriously?

That's right, so cute.

Best friends and sisters.