The Princess & The Pea

As a child I learned about the princess who couldn't sleep 

because there was a pea under her mattress. 

But how when the pea was gone she missed it. 

In the real life version of this story, 

I am the Princess and Josh is my pea. 

He is THE most annoying bed partner. 

But through this deployment I have realized I miss my pea. 

I have attempted to use 

the smallish versions of him in his place 

but it is just not the same.... 

and I do sleep better when they are not there. 

So in 44 days (ish), I get my pea home and I will sleep again.

Some times in life you just wanna...

Scream! 

Punch Something! 

Cry to the point of hyperventilation! 

Punch Something Again!

No? Okay fine.... maybe that's just me. 

Well tonight was one of those nights. 

I have been preparing and studying like a crazy person every night until 1 am or later to get ready for the 2 mid-term exams I had to take this weekend. So yesterday I go to the testing center all prepared to show that art test "who its daddy was". Upon arrival, the testing center attendant took inventory of my #2 pencil, my student ID and my keys. She then asked me the question that ruined my whole mojo...

"Do you have your index card cheat sheet with you"

Ummmmmm...... no, no I don't. And of course because I ALWAYS wait until the 11th hour to do anything, there was not enough time to go home to get it or make a new one. So instead of my proving my superiority... I was quite efficiently put in my place. I got an 80 on the test which is not that bad, but had I had my "who's who & who painted what using what medium" card with me, I would have rocked it. 

New day, new opportunity. I had a great day today. So productive and so fulfilling. My granny came over to watch my boys so I could do some last minute studying before taking on the accounting beast, I mean test. I went to the college. Found myself the perfect little study nook. I ran through the vocabulary terms a few more times until I knew them verbatim. I redid the chapter quiz twice just to make sure I was ready. I can honestly say I have never felt so confident going into a test. 

I arrived at the testing center with plenty of time to spare. I had my index card of formulas, my TI-84 Plus calculator, my #2 pencil, my nice crisp scantron & my student ID. NOTHING was going to ruin this for me. As I sat down at the assigned desk, I said a quiet little prayer that God would help my mind to be open and the information that was stored, to be readily accessible to me. And between my studying and his favor, I was rocking that exam! I breezed through Ch. 5 like none other and was about half way through the Ch. 6 portion when I glanced down and saw something unexpected. There was another section... and it read...

Chapter 8.

WHAT????? I haven't even finished the Ch. 8 homework. I knew there had to be a mistake so I promptly raised my hand and notified the worker that there was a problem with my test. I explained that there was no way this was the right test because we haven't even gone over chapter 8 yet. As if it couldn't get any better, if I would have flipped to the next page I would have noticed the Ch. 9 section that concluded the test. Long story short, I guess my teacher decided to forgo the syllabus that I had been following and combine the two smaller tests into one big one. I happen to have a few kiddos and a deployed daddy and a few screws loose, so I missed this memo I guess. 

To top things off, the test isn't even due until the 10th. 

So what did I do? I finished the Ch. 6 portion, turned in my scantron and quickly emailed my teacher to explain why I only took half of a test. Who knows what is going to happen from here. I totally get that I am the only one to blame. I am not trying to put the responsibility on anyone else. BUT.... owning up to this screw up does not make me feel better.... if you wanna know how it makes me feel, refer back to the first four statements. 

weekly wrap-up

Here is a snippit of our week:

Me: accounting test, art test, art mid term project, dance company rehearsal, chair-bench up-cycle, pallet to curtain rod project, armoir makeover, garage overhaul and about 50 loads of laundry.

C: No school, SEP's, lots of Star Wars, beginning creative writing, dance class, hair cut, lunch with nana & playtime at Little Valley, won his first Mario Kart race and playroom cleanup (with mommy)

T: letters & number workbook time, counting to 20, Dr. Seuss day, lunch with nana & playtime at Little Valley, learned to do a front flip on the couch, and helped Zannah cook dinner

A: WEANED OFF THE BOTTLE!!!!! (yayyayayay), slept through the night 2 nights in a row, played with some cute little girls at Little Valley after having lunch with Nana, learned to sign 2 signs in a row (ie: "more milk"), talked to daddy & said "hi"

It was a good week for us! 

Only 48 more days until we are a complete family again. 

We are ALL so excited.

An End & A Beginning

Today was such a productive day for me. 

I love having these days. 

They are my fave.

I finally made the returns to Target that I have been meaning to get to for about 2 months. Luckily for me Target has a 90 day return policy. I also payed my questar gas bill... for whatever reason this is the one bill that always slips my mind. I seriously need to get it on auto pay or something. I am totally that lady who gets the pink slip on the door for disconnect purely because the check that I wrote 2 months ago is still sitting nicely in my wallet. I went to Urban Renewal and dropped off some gently used items that I finally gave the eviction notice to.... it was hard to see them go but they had definitely overstayed their welcome.

I put away the boys' clothes that have been taunting me in a huge pile on the floor. It's like they were saying to me...

"oooo I'm gonna get cha"

every time I walked by. So I gave in and finally put them in their proper place.

I attended a modern class and I taught my pointe class today, so me and my old, worn out & out of shape body is tired.

But the thing I did today that was the "big thing" was a really big thing for me. 

Today was the day I said goodbye to one chapter of my life and hello to another. 

Today I packed up my car with 4 big Rubbermaid containers full to the brim of all of my babies clothing, bottles, blankets, receivers and shoes. One tupper contained the last set of baby bedding I will buy (at least for a while, God willing). And lastly I piled in the infant car seat and base that had been the mode of transportation for my tiny & very premature baby.

I remember putting his teensy little 4 pound body 

into the seat 

when he was a month and a half old 

and thinking that the straps would swallow him whole... 

and they did. 

We went all the way to Las Vegas just to get this car seat that would go down to 4 pounds. See the NICU has regulations that preemies must pass a car seat test and that the weight requirements are met. ie: if you have a 4lb 6oz baby and a 5lb & up car seat... no going home for baby. So... we had the special preemie car seat ready to go. (ps... Ash hit 5lbs the day before he went home so the very expensive, i mean preemie-safe, car seat was not needed after-all.)

Long story short, my sister in law Lyndsie will become the proud new owner of our gender neutral baby bedding and my soon to be step sister will be the proud new owner of the rest of it. (Sorry Lynz... I had already promised that stuff out. I will work on getting new stuff for the little padewon inside your belly.)

I cried a little bit as I left the UPS store with nothing but a bunch of empty Rubbermaid totes that had contained such important elements of the last 6 years of my life. Every onesie, every pair of shoes, every blanket, every everything triggers such a sacred memory of my babies lives.

I know they are only things and that the memories stay with me but it that knowledge did not help the twinge in my stomach as I unloaded the empty totes into my garage that had stored all of these memory keepers for so long.

I am so thankful for the stages that my boys are in now.... 

but I will always cherish those precious first years with my little ones.

These are a few of my favorite things...

It is midnight and I cannot sleep. So... I have compiled a list of my favorite things for this week:

1) Watching Cohen shimmie (sp?) his way up the slot canyon at the Dixie Rock Red Cliffs today like a big man.

2) Hearing my hubby tell me dinner was yummy... and mean it. (ps... I DONT COOK!)

3) My CLEANED OUT car!

4) FALL BREAK!!(need I say more?)

5) Yard Sales... especially when its a moving sale and the owner worked at urban renewal! I totally scored big on that one! (pictures to follow soon)

6) Ashten/Bruce/ Fat-Fat sleeping for 5hrs at night

7) Tallen telling me he loved me "A big-big one!"

8) The Momma song that Josh & the boys made for me. (also to follow soon as soon as I can figure out how to upload it.)

9) Filling out my timecard (cause it means I am going to have a little extra cash this month)

10) Having an opportunity to take a test, which I missed. My teacher is amazing! :)

YAY!!! For amazing weeks filled with love, laughter and hope for a great one this week!

Weekly Reflections

Aaron Winning

Rec. Center Kickball Team
(ps~ i didnot play but Josh did)

As you may know I am one of the most eclectic people... no comments needed on this one. I love so many different and wonderful things, including my friends! I have my friends that I have basically known my whole life who are more like family at this point in my life. Then I  have my family that do double duty and serve as my friends also. Finally I have my new friends... these are some of my favorites! Josh and I moved here in December of 2008. I started working at St. George City in Feb. 2009. I not only have an awesome job (one that I am having to take a hiatus from right now.. sad) but the people that I work with are AWESOME!!! This past week one of my most dear friends WON the St. George Marathon that one of my other very dearest friends coordinates. I spent all morning (well basically from Thursday to Saturday) getting ready for the Finish Line. Aaron (my friend that won) is an amazing runner. He used to run for University of Michigan in college. He runs like a 5min mile. He is soooo good. So when he decided that he was going to run the marathon we all got super excited. Then as the months dragged on and he continued to train for this amazingly crazy race we all started to get a little nervous. This guy doesn't lose. He actually tells people he won't run a race if he doesn't think he has a good chance of winning. So as the days began to get closer and closer I got ancier and ancier. So the morning came and here I was waiting at the finish line with the entire Recreation & Marathon staff. I was surrounded by my most amazing hubby (yay!) and all of my work friends.

Rec Center staff hard at work

When Aaron crossed the finish line I looked around and just took a deep breath. I realized just how lucky I was that I could consider all of these people my friends and I was able to experience such an awesome thing with these people. It was a very overwhelming experience for me.

Today I had another moment where I just thought to myself "Wow! I am such a lucky girl!" I have a very dear friend who I get the pleasure of living right next to. (I hope this doesn't embarass you...) I randomly drop in an hang out with my next door neighbor friend all the time. I just love our conversations. We have babies that are very close in age and they all love to play with their "friends". I love to call myself a crafty lady but the truth is I am really not. I try so hard to be crafty but I really am jsut learning. I have been even contemplating starting a craft blog (which I follow religiously) for beginners such as myslef. Anyway so my friend knows my secret... I can only really sew a square. I am really good at squares but that is about it. So when I was asked to make a cute girly carseat cover I figured that I would be fine. Then I got this cute fancy fabric and ribbon and buttons and it became a little bit more intricate... and a little out of my league. So off to my Mary's house I went. "Help!!!" She is the most amazing little mommy... she does all these cute little things with her 5 BOYS! I can barely manage 3... haha. She totally helped me figure out how to do this super cute little girls carseat cover. I am totally gonna mimick it tonight and do one for Ashten. But as I sat there just hanging out I thought to myself that I really am such a lucky girl. I have the most supportive

hubby ever! I have an amazing family that is soooo uplifting! I have these 3 beautiful baby boys who just amaze me everyday at how smart & creative they are. And on top of all of that I have some off the best friends in the whole world!

 I am truly blessed! 

So as I reflect on the last week, I am not focusing on the negative things (being sick or having to drop 2 classes & forfeit my Fin. Aid for next semester) but I am focusing on the positive things in my life... God, Family, Friends & the Love I Have For All 3!!! 

PS~ Ashten started to SMILE!!! YAYAYAY! 

Its been awhile...

Lately I have been thinking that I really want to start getting back to the "things" in life that make me feel very passionate... not just the things that I have to do. Most of my time, it seems, is taken up by meaningless motions. I am better than that. Yes, I am a wife and mother of 3 small boys but I REFUSE to let that be the only thing that defines me. I LOVE my husband and my children more than life itself but I am still Lacey! So... I have this huge blank wall that i will be working on in the next few weeks.

I am going to paint a mural using canvas' in all shapes and sizes that goes across my wall. My living room is one of my favorite rooms in my house. It is cozy and eclectic. I have no idea what I am going to paint but whatever it is will be bold and full of color. Robust may be a good term for what I invision.






Other things have been going on lately, too:

• Ashten & Tallen both were dedicated to the Lord on September 6th. It is always an emotional thing when you stand in front of your congregation and openly say:

"Yep, I am totally giving this (or these) child(ren) back to you God. They are yours. Hold me accountable."

That is a very powerful statement. I pray that I upkeep that declaration everyday in all my actions. 

• Ashten, was born on June 15th and if he would have come home with me then I totally would have done his newborn pictures within about 2 weeks. Well, my children like to come early and like to live in the NICU for a few weeks so here the little bugger is 12 weeks old and we just got them done. But hey he was 8 weeks early so if you subtract... 12-8=4... so he's really only a month old. So here they are. I LOVE THEM!!!