Keep on Cluckin'

What June has been like for us...

We've been eating out a lot (like, once a week!) because of all the summer events/activities we've been invited to.  Ez is finally back to his normal self, eating up a frenzy; he was pretty ill and lost his appetite for nearly an entire week but thanks to a lot of prayers from his sisters on his behalf, he's his chipper self again.

My latest project: refurbishing/restoring my dad's old baby high chair.  It's definitely slow-going since I don't find myself with a lot of spare time and since the rust a little bit more stubborn that I am.

June is the month for WEDDINGS!  I've had a few busy weekends where I find myself elbow-deep in flowers, but I'm grateful to get back into my profession.  I've been trying to weigh whether I want to go full-scale with Solstice or not, and I have pretty much made up my mind that I'll do what I can without advertising, since I've got a family to pay attention to.  I do still like referrals, though.... ;)

The yard is coming along.  I've only been concerned with the back yard since it is where we spend a lot of time, regardless of the rocks.  The garden is growing really well, I'm just sad that I didn't get started a lot sooner.  I was too worried about a late frost.  Anyway, we've kept busy weeding and watering and I'm grateful for the things it's teaching my daughters.

I was in charge of a wedding party for Maggie and Melvin last week and it was a huge success.  The theme was "Vintage Italiano" and thanks to a lot of people, it came together really nicely.

(Siena took this "photoshoot" of Qiana.)

Swimming at Grandma Peg's community pool.  Reminds us of Midvale and we get a little "homesick".

Juan got a tent for Father's Day from the kiddos and they were so excited about it that they camped out for three days in the loft.

Pupusas, due to a sour attempt at homemade fish tacos.  Note to self: never freeze fish again.  It's probably already been frozen once before.

Piano Girl-- we're both ÜBER FRUSTRATED at times, but the overall experience has been good.

Impromptu bike ride to Utah Lake with the Goldings.

Many fun times were had here in my youth and the memories just came flooding in once we got on the river trail.

A Birthday Fiesta for Tia Sierrrrrrr-ah.  Living near family is too awesome for words.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

Let it go down in the historical books that today, the tenth of June in the year two thousand and thirteen, I, Stacia, fulfilled a near impossible dream of completing the To-Do list I set out to accomplish today. I owe all of my success on this point to my 3 year-old who complied with the idea of an afternoon nap, my toddler son who slept soundly alongside his sister, and my 5 year-old who quietly kept herself busy while I whittled away at my household chores.  It was a momentous and fulfilling moment the second I peeled off the rubber gloves and stored them away for another day. I'd also like to thank the academy for nominating my house as one of the not-so-filthy houses they'd seen, (although they may revoke that nomination tomorrow.)  And a big Thank You to the Internet for allowing me to share this special day with anyone who cares.  The best part about the whole thing: I still had time to play with my kids.

(wipe a tear and blow a kiss.)

in·sane

/inˈsān/
Adjective
In a state of mind that prevents normal perception, behavior, or social interaction; seriously mentally ill.
(of an action or quality) Characterized or caused by madness.
Synonyms
mad - crazy - demented - lunatic


Motherhood is a silly thing. It doesn't make you insane, it shows you how insane you already are, deep down inside. I'm starting to realize that as the days are getting longer and the nerves are wearing down; I'm forced to think about the fact that I will never be Supermom and that I'm truly... insane.

It's a good kind of insane, though. It's the type of insanity that drives a person to become a parent in the first place. See, you don't fully realize the weight of the contract when you think of starting a perfect, cute, fun (--insert any lighthearted adjective here--) little family, but you are rallying yourself up for quite a long and arduous journey, something beyond dirty diapers and sisterly cat fights. Yours becomes a life of worry and self doubt. You put yourself in the very relentless grasp of Torture by Whining. You sacrifice your physical body beyond just giving birth; it's all the bending over for something dropped or spilled on the floor and the permanent right shoulder sag from the daily weight of a diaper bag or infant car seat. And those are just in the first years of your parenthood. If you willingly sign up for all those things and countless other parental grievances, you are, by definition, truly insane. "Normal" people steer clear of uncomfortable situations like that, yet we as parents commit to a lifetime of it.

Why?

Well, I propose that we are every bit as brilliant as we are insane. In Brilliancy's favor, I think it does outshine any kind of monotony to which Parenthood contributes. We, the parents of the next generation, have got Creative Brilliance down pat.  In the primal sense, we gave life to those little rugrats because humans feel the invisible force to create.  It's by pure nature that we want to experience and perpetuate life like 99.9% of all biotic things.  The brilliancy behind the natural inclination is interwoven with complete insanity given the simple fact that we already know, or have an inkling at least, what kind of life we're getting ourselves into--yet we do it anyway.  Whether we are conscious of our brilliancy or not, we're setting ourselves up for a lifetime of not only the discomfort, but the inexplicable, unmitigated feeling of happiness that comes only from being a mother or father.

Before I had children, I would observe the interactions of parents with their youngsters and would try to empathize with them so I could set the right expectation for myself in order to form a logical and informed decision for my own future.  I noticed soon that there were many things about children that I was not keen on--the smells, the bodily fluids, the grime, the sass, the whining, the... well, you get the point.  Then I would pay attention to the smiles that parents would flash whether they were the result of a child's full-effort given, or a funny phrase spoken, or even a reaction to a completely new experience. I could tell that the parents were happy, but I did not even grasp their level of happiness.  I could not, because I wasn't a parent yet; I did not understand that those same little rugrats who drool and scream also give a powerful dose of joy that cannot be matched by any drug.

Well, you know the story for me: insanity and brilliancy won.  I became like most other people at some point--a parent--and it gives me pleasure to admit that I am not unique in that sense. Though I may have been at war with my children today, in realizing that my choice was formed from that crazy psychological potion, I find an odd comfort.  I have many more reasons, mostly religious, to find peace with my choice to have children, but I can say that even lately when the girls and I are constantly butting heads, I wouldn't have traded it for the world.

(No one has their hair brushed and we're taking a picture in the bathroom... That's just how we roll these days.)

#FelízMamasDay

I'll just come out with it: I'm spoiled.  This Mother's Day I wasn't surprised with an exotic vacation, new wardrobe, or spa gift card; rather I got a gift every mother would agree is the BEST gift a child or the father of your children could give: a day of pure consideration.

Siena actually gave me my gift on Saturday with a surprise "Mother's Day Breakfast" she concocted herself.  She must have sneaked downstairs while Juan and I were still sleeping because neither of us knew she had this planned (and unfortunately, she didn't know it wasn't officially Mother's Day yet; when she found out the news that Mother's Day was on Sunday, she was a little crushed that her labors had been performed on the wrong day.)  Her breakfast masterpiece?  " Breakfast Lunchables"--made with Wheat Thins, strawberry yogurt and vanilla yogurt, all topped with Craisins.  I am still so honored that she made that all for me for Mother's Day.  Pure consideration.

The next huge wave of thoughtfulness happened Sunday morning.  While I bathed the girls and got them ready for church, Juan was busy in the kitchen preparing a delicious breakfast of crêpes with homemade whipped cream and freshly sliced strawberries.  It was a scrumptious start to the Sabbath.  He even cleaned up the kitchen!!  Pure consideration.

After church we changed our clothes and Juan took us all on a picnic up the canyon.  He had prepared the whole thing so I didn't even have to lift a finger.  The weather was perfect so after we ate, we took a nice family drive up the canyon to Squaw Peak to show the girls the Overlook to the valley.  We happened to get up there right as about a dozen paragliders were preparing to take off.  It was kind of fun to see the whole process, as we don't know much about the sport.

We drove home and Juan started preparing dinner while I completed his mom's Mother's Day gift from the family (a planter with herbs we grew this Spring and flowers. Why had I never thought of that before??)  Once we arrived at his parents' house, the moms were directed not to do a thing but relax which was a little difficult because the guilt was weighing on me.  :)  Dinner was amazing, as was dessert and we didn't have to clean up at all.  (Can you tell that I don't really like to clean?) 

When we arrived, Juan cleaned the kitchen again while I organized my ribbon stash (...and then somehow wound up crafting.)  He didn't leave a single dish unclean or a single countertop cluttered.  Pure consideration.  

He really is a man who thinks of others more than himself and puts his family first in his life.  I couldn't have asked for more and this Mother's Day reminded me of that over and over again.

Juan's kitchen gadget gift to me: my favorite type of can opener. We haven't stumbled across one in a while and we've been looking, so I consider this gift a definite WIN. :)

Sunday:

(When it comes to family pictures, we'll take what we can get....)

 Saturday:

It's Been One of Those Days...

We've seen a whole lot of craziness the last couple of weeks and it certainly looks as if we're not going to unwind any time soon.  Where to start?  Last weekend was totally fun because we got to host a friend from Fresno, Eugenia, who wanted to come visit.  We took her to see Salt Lake City, namely Temple Square, as she just got baptized a few months ago.  She loved it and we were so happy to have her with us.  It reminded me of the wonder of it all; it's good to try to see religion through a fresh perspective.

After a few get-together dinners at our house, between family and friends, we thought we were okay to leave the house in disarray for a second.  Nope!  Thursday (yesterday) we hosted a play-date that was so ambitious I don't know what I was thinking.  Siena had wanted a playdate for a looooong time and when I finally relented and said we could go on a Nature Hike with Paige and Angelina, she ran to them with the news.  A few other girls expressed their desires to have  a play date and well, Siena just couldn't resist inviting them too.  I loved the idea of having more kids over because Siena's never stayed put in one place long enough to make close friends, but I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to handle 7 kids under the age of 6 for a few hours.  Luckily one of the mothers offered to come help me and we were set.  After feeding the kiddos some lunch we went across the street to a hobby farm of our neighbors and watched Farmer Brown feed the chickens, clean their coop and collect the eggs.  The girls loved it!  Ezra remained fixated upon the dog and was beaming from ear to ear every time he got to pet it.  When we got back we had a scavenger hunt for certain things found in nature and then planted herbs and flowers in empty egg cartons.  After that, we read some nature stories while we ate Dirt Cups as a snack and then it was free play time.  They loved it, I loved it, and I think I'm off the hook for another playdate for a while.  I put in my time....  ;)

Today was just a crazy day to end a crazy week.  Nothing too dramatic happened.

Oh wait, yes it did.

Something extremely dramatic happened.

I was leaving the gym with Ezra and driving home when I noticed a driver next to me at the red light.  He was yelling and flailing his arm out the window and yelling something like, "Holly, come back to me!"  For a moment I thought he was just a rowdy high school kid who had mistaken me for someone else.  After the light turned green he started following me.  No joke.  I was creeped out for a second, until I started to notice that he was driving like a madman.  He was swerving in and out of lanes and I just started trying to get away from him.  Once we hit University Avenue where the speed limit is 50, it seemed as if he wasn't crazy, but that he was completely inebriated.  There was another man in the truck with him, so I thought that the possibility of his friends letting him drive drunken was slim.  However, it was soon apparent that he was under the influence of alcohol.  I called 911 and told them the most I could about the truck and our approximate location, but there was nothing I could really do besides keep driving since there were no immediate roads to turn off onto.  At one point, I was so scared about him running into me that reflexes took over and I closed my eyes tightly. He was speeding up really fast, then slowing down and swerving into the curb, then speeding up again and hanging out within inches of my car.  Finally, I pulled off the road at a red light, determined to get away from him, hoping and praying that he wouldn't slam into me.  Luckily he didn't since I had gotten out of the way, and as the light turned green and he sped off, I was able to give a better description of his license plate and vehicle to the dispatcher.  It was a little nerve-racking.  About 10 minutes later, as I went to pick Siena up from school, I noticed a police helicopter surveying the area.  I don't know if it was related at all to the guy in the truck, but it was still unnerving.  Once I calmed down a bit, I started feeling oddly like a hero, convincing myself that I saved someone from dying today.  :)  Funny how emotions work.  It was a good reminder that when we are behind the wheel, we are driving Death Machines and that we need to devote our attention to the task at hand: driving.  I'm so so so grateful that Ezra and I were okay and that as far as I assume, no one else was hurt.

Oh, and the day just got worse.  Let's just say that I was pretty desperate to renew my drivers license since Juan brought it to my attention last night that it expired last month.  So I packed the kids in the car, started making our way down to South Provo, got half-way, realized that I had left the paperwork on the table, drove back, collected everything, drove back to South Provo, unloaded my kids (Qiana only had one shoe!,) trekked upstairs to the office, filled out the paperwork with three noisy children surrounding me, got to the desk.... and was told that I had to go to the Orem office.

Are. You. Kidding. Me?

So we drove back, the girls were fighting the whole way home, I lost my temper, yelling ensued, I collected myself but was still steaming inside, the girls were crying, Ezra was sitting quietly--observing how our temperamental family works, and we pulled up to the house.

After feeding them and making amends, I decided I had better actually do my hair and makeup for my license picture, which was something I hadn't cared about at all this morning.  We loaded everyone back into the car and drove to the Orem office, hoping for a short waiting period.  That is when we caught our breath.  We walked straight up to the register and took care of business.  The only thing I regret was bringing the iPad to entertain the girls while I took my test (I was applying with an out-of-state license and they didn't have my married name on file.)  The two locas fought over it in the middle of the testing area.  I was: 1) embarrassed, 2) mad, 3) stressed out, 4) distracted or 5) all of the above.  On my open-book drivers license test, I only got 20 out of 25 questions right!  When I went back to see which ones I got wrong, I realized that I had either read too much into the question, misread the question or interpreted it incorrectly.  Puh-leez Stacia.  It totally reminded me of the ACT.  I am officially the world's WORST test-taker.  Oh well, I passed and that's all that mattered.

Now the rest of the day has plenty of positive potential I'm sure, since I have a feeling that it's only going to go up from here.

S'more de Flor

You know how people like step-by-step pictures for their sewing projects, or refurb projects, or recipes?  It's really quite the THING to do right now.  

I'm over it.

How much easier it would be to skip the 20+ beautiful "how-to" pictures and just read the directions?  I'm sure it would save about 10 minutes or so.  On second thought though, I guess it wouldn't be as fun.  And maybe you just wouldn't catch the excitement of the project, recipe, what have you....

Okay, I'm back in.

The girls and I had some fun in the kitchen today for snacktime.  We invented a new S'MORE.  Maybe it's been done BEFORE, but I don't ABHOR a new kind of s'more.  I think I'll IMPLORE you to try this FLOR S'MORE.  One bite and you'll ADORE, I'm SURE.

(Somebody had better notify the nerd police... I need to be stopped.)

Well, because we wanted to share our recipe, and because I am back on board with the "how-to" pictures, I prettied up some silly little ones for your pleasure.  But to keep it within the realm of reason, I limited myself to only ONE other photo, besides the finished product.  (This is a s'more and by now, it had better be pretty self-explanatory.)

First and foremost, I thought it would be important to note that these s'mores are the layman's version.  They are microwaved.  MICRO-WAVED. It's just so much easier.

Step one: Set it up like this

Step two: Fill with a dollop of cream cheese.  (These first two steps are interchangeable.)

Step three: Microwave on High for about 15-20 seconds, or until the mallows puff up.

Step four: SMOOSH a strawberry over the cream cheese and surrounding mallows.

EAT.

Snippets of April

Today was a rainy day so we got to dress up--Rain Day Style.  Mondays are our volunteer days in Siena's class and happen to be Qiana's favorite days because she thinks that she's a kindergartener like her sister.

During Conference, I kept my hands busy "fancifying" a shirt Siena stained a few weeks ago.  Hope the day never comes when she's too cool to wear refurbished clothing.

Qiana and Abuela went on a Provo River walk on Sunday, like "gemelas".

Ezra has a very happy disposition until it's time for him to eat.  He's our picky child and we're trying our hardest to get him aboard the veggie train.  If it's green, he turns up his nose. (Little Chamaco!)

For General Conference, the girls were very well-behaved, thanks to a ton of ideas found on Pinterest.  They worked hard building temples out of blocks, writing in their Conference Journals, and listening from their tents they set up to be like King Benjamin's people.

Ezra is pulling himself to everything, but he still refuses to walk.  He can stand solo, but also shies away from that.  I think it's a confidence issue.  Poco a poco mijo....

Qiana has a few recurring issues with being potty trained.  She is definitely capable, but I'm guessing it's a control "thing": she only goes if I go up their with her otherwise there's a 50% chance she'll wet herself.  Well, sad for us both, I am more stubborn than her and I'm determined that she will learn to do it herself.  She knows that if she has an accident, she cleans the mess with the towel they use as a bath mat, she strips down in the tub and washes herself, then after dressing herself, she retrieves the Swiffer and gets to work cleaning it up.  She's completely competent in doing those things, so I let her and don't feel bad about it one bit. :)  Oh, but I love the little munchkin, even with her control issues because I know she gets them from me.

While we're speaking of the not-so-great things taking place in our house, I may as well bring this up: Siena does not like me.  At least, the day she wrote this she didn't.  "I [do] not like my Mom."  What possibly promoted this kind of lashing out?  I told her to pick up a blanket and put it in the blanket basket.  Oh, Girls!

One thing that is sure to bring a good mood is a riding lesson.  Until we get horses (ha!), they get their kicks on the bikes they got from Los Tres Reyes.  Just look at their faces!

Pure joy

Oh, we love our little brother.

Weekday Update with Stacia Chavez

It's been a while since I've given a little update on the family.  Actually, it's been about 7 months!  So I'll get right to it... (by the way, this is probably going to be interesting only to me and Juan, and maybe the kids when they grow up, so I'm not writing to entertain the occasional reader.  Sorry.)

Ezra has been doing some major developing.  He's finally over his sickness and back to his usual cheery self.  Crawling up stairs has been a favorite activity of his, with much hesitation on my part.  Of course, I'm right there behind him as he does it in case he falls, but I can't help but think the kid is going to figure out a way to ditch Mom and try it without a "safety net".  He's trying to form real words right now.  Don't misunderstand, he's definitely not talking yet, but he's realizing that he can control sounds by forming his mouth a certain way.  It's pretty interesting to see that lightbulb working in his mind as he grows and tries new things.  He's started heading into the Separation Anxiety Stage now, too.  It's not as bad as it was for the girls, I think, but it's enough to make him cry himself to sleep at bedtime.  He loves to be chased and tickled and he's quite the cuddly boy when he wants to be.  He "dances" any time he hears a beat or music.  The kid has rhythm too.  We've got to get him into some kind of music class just as soon as he's old enough.  He's also going through a huge growth spurt right now.  Last night we fed him dinner and a 4 oz. bottle around 6:00.  At 8:00 we fed him an 8 oz. bottle right before he went to bed for the night.  At 11:00 he woke up screaming.  We thought it was just a bad dream, but since we couldn't console him at all, we gave him another 4 oz. bottle.  He inhaled that and then started crying when he realized it was all gone.  We tried another 4 ounces and after that he drifted back off to sleep.  Then again, around 6:45 this morning he woke up, hungry for more.  The kid is a bottomless pit!

Qiana is going through a bunch of changes that have left Juan and me baffled as to what is the cause and what to do about it.  The biggest change is that she's reverted back to wetting herself.  The  interesting thing is that she gets to the bathroom, sometimes even with her pants down and ready to go, but she just goes right there on the floor less than a foot away from the toilet.  I'm at my wits end trying to figure out how to help her.  It's definitely been a learning curve for Juan and me because we have tried getting really upset with her, talking it through gently with her, making it a game, rewarding her, punishing her... you name it.  Nothing seems to work!  I realize that she's gone through a TON of changes lately, what with three moves in the last 9 months, but I guess I just expected that once she learned how easy it was to just GO, she would stick with that.  Oh well, like I said, we're learning.  She is as hilarious as she ever was, begging to be tickled and faking "Sleeping Beauty" whenever she possibly can.  She loves to tease, as usual, but she's finding more and more joy in being silly and getting giggles out of her brother.  I love how those two get along.  The strangest thing happened about a month ago when I gave her a haircut/trim.  She lost her curl!  Her signature curly hair is gone!  I know it's silly, but I was devastated and felt so guilty for taking that part of her away.  She and Siena just finished up their community ed gymnastics class and although neither of them can do a cartwheel still, I think they both benefitted from having something to look forward to together.  They can be so catty to each other, lately.  I am the worst parent because no matter what I do to stop it, fighting always ensues when they play together.  I just try to enjoy the happy parts of their playtime, and in reality, they are the majority of that time.

Siena teaches me very day that there are little observers in the house.  I will see her act fifteen years older and say things to her sister or doll that only a parent would say.  Today, for example, Qiana was pretending that she was pregnant and when the baby was finally "born" Siena was so excited and said in the cutest "mom voice" that she would love to hold the baby, if Qiana would allow it.  Qiana was a gracious new mommy and handed the baby over to Siena who subsequently crooned over the doll as she gingerly cradled it in her arms.  She said things like, "It is just so adorable! Hi Baby, Hi.... So sweet. Is she talking yet?"  It shocked me when I saw them play dolls at how many motherly instincts those girls have.  Another tidbit of news about Siena is that she is progressing extremely well in piano.  She started taking lessons near the end of November, and she's almost done with her first books.  I'm so grateful that she loves it and plays for fun, even after the 40 minutes to 1 hour of practicing  she puts in every day. We just started an herb garden with the girls and she is keeping a very thorough seed journal.  Involving the children in seemingly mundane tasks brings so much whimsy to my life.

Getting along

Writing her seed observations

First day it reached 70 degrees outside, he got naked time 

Planting

...and just a bunch of random sleep pics. I love naps!

Four wheeling in the San Rafael Swell

This past weekend we went to the high desert of Utah. Oh my. It was incredible! I have always loved that place, but this trip reminded me why. If you have never been to a remote enough place that you wonder when the last person (if any) was there, you need to go to the San Rafael Swell.

There is such a powerful message nature sends you when you are at her mercy. First, we followed a trail into the depths of the Swell, then we explored the country from the dry-ish bed of a river. I was apprehensive that we would get lost, but I eventually learned to trust in my dad, who had been there enough to know how to make "breadcrumb trails" of mental marks along the way. One funny thing happened soon after I first voiced my concern that we were going to either get stuck or lost; after heartily (but kindly) rebuking me for thinking we would get stuck, my dad decided to go through a spot of high water on the four-wheeler--you can imagine what happened. He got stuck and the boys had to tow him out. I only relate that story because from the perspective of the entire group, including him, it was just plain funny and perfectly-timed. My mom and I got a really good laugh, for we love the chance to say "I told you so."

We were brave and took the girls with us, which was such a good idea in hindsight. They handled the long ride (7.5 hours!) very well. I think having so many adults to two girls helped a ton. Mom, Dad, Harper, Juan and myself went on the trip, so it was a perfect-sized group for the kind of ride we took. I think Chad really would have liked it.

Siena is learning about habitats in school right now and soon will be focusing on the desert, so I was able to take the opportunity to give her a hands-on introduction. We took a lot of pictures, so I think I'll let them speak the volumes I have to say.